


Islands Apart But Together In Heart

by DisneyChick2020



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Family, Father/Daughter, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Justice, Mental Health Issues, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Not Canon Compliant, Past Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Past Drug Addiction, Recovery, Redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 64
Words: 323,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25997350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisneyChick2020/pseuds/DisneyChick2020
Summary: One thing the (former) Captain learnt during his experience in Tarapi Island was no matter how far Cassandra was she will always be in his heart. There was a long wait until she was freed as someone puts a spanner in the works of her road to recovery. There soon came the time to say goodbye even though he had no way of knowing when they would meet again. All he could hope for is that she was safe away from any demons on her search to find her place in the big wide world.The battle with the ancient demon Zhan Tiri may be over but now they must work together to bring down another demon in human form. Pete finds himself in Cassandra's position being manipulated into turning against everyone, even those he loved.
Relationships: Captain of Corona's Guard & Cassandra (Disney), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Pete the Guard/Stan the Guard (Disney: Tangled), Queen Arianna of Corona & Cassandra (Disney: Tangled), Queen Arianna of Corona/King Frederic of Corona (Disney)
Comments: 373
Kudos: 63





	1. Heal Her Broken Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a story inspired by Disney's song "You'll Be In My Heart" I also make some changes to the final battle scene. 
> 
> Obviously, the characters mentioned above are not my own, they belong to Disney, the mouse, I just name the Captain to make it easier for me to write him because it just feels awkward calling him Captain when he is not and it doesn't sound good to keep calling him former Captain either.  
> A word of warning there are parts that you may find upsetting in later chapters.
> 
> Most of the spells mentioned are from Harry Potter by J.K Rowling, there are some I have made up myself.

”Rapunzel!” Cassandra cried out and kicked the piece of amber over Zhan Tiri's head and as soon as Rapunzel caught it she slashed off her locks. Zhan Tiri's was unable to stop herself as her arms sprung together which lead to the crash of sun drop and the moonstone.  
  
There was an explosion, Zhan Tiri screamed as her death had drawn near, she vanished and all the black rocks went along with her. The powers of the sun drop and the moonstone merged as a ball of white light appeared at the front of the balcony. Rapunzel watched in amazement as it turned yellow and revealed a hybrid sun and moonstone, Pascal was fascinated about the mysterious object to.  
  
“It's beautiful… Cass, we did it, we finally did it!” She cheered as she leapt up on her feet, she had grown worried when she didn't hear a reply instantly. “Cass? Cass?” She searched for her and much to her horror she realized that she had been hurt in the explosion as she laid motionless on the floor. She raced to her side and held her close, she didn't know what to do.  
  
“No! Cassandra, I can't let it end this way!” Rapunzel cried as she dropped to her knees and pulled her close. "You can't leave, I won't let you,” like before her tear had landed on her cheek but unlike with Eugene, it didn't bring up the golden light as she was empty of the Sundrop power.  
  
“Cassandra!”  
She gasped as Cassandra's father, the former captain, limped up the stairs. He looked like he had been seriously hurt as he panted heavily and held on the railing for support. He was deathly pale and weak, it pained her to see him so heartbroken as one of his worst fears had come true his daughter was dead.  
  
“D-Dave stop, w-we don’t know... If it’s-“ Stan’s voice trailed off as he struggled up the stairs to and appeared to be having an unusual amount of difficulty breathing, he was just behind him, he had fallen on his knees and put a hand over his heart as the pain in his chest intensified.  
  
“That’s my girl! My daughter!” Cassandra’s adoptive father as he had fallen on his knees and stroked her hair, Rapunzel glanced over at Stan and noticed he also looked seriously ill, he was still panting, all colour was drained out of his face and his eyes were also unusually raw and puffy, had he just lost a loved one as well? She then realized his best mate Pete was missing, she gasped as he collapsed onto the floor. The decay incantation had never killed someone before, she didn't know it could do such a thing, she looked back at the former Captain in fear that he was about to die to.  
  
Arianna's heart sunk along when she heard him howl, it had broken her heart to see the people limp and lifeless on the ground. Earlier she had watched helplessly as guards put the fallen colleagues on stretchers.  
  
“It's David,” Frederic said as he had seen him go up. “Zhan Tiri must have killed Cassandra.”  
  
“Oh no,” Arianna gasped as she looked up at the balcony although she could not see much, the sound of crying and screaming made her heartache.  
  
“Well, she should have thought of that before she paired up with that demon, this is what happens when you don't keep your child in line,” Frederic muttered.  
  
David knelt on the opposite side of Rapunzel and stroked her greasy raven hair, tears poured from his eyes and landed on her face. “I — I am sorry Cassandra… I was not there for you when you needed me the most, I let you down... I failed you.”  
  
"I'm so sorry Cassandra, I kept going on about how I needed you but you needed me to," Rapunzel said as she hugged her fallen friend. She turned around and taken another look at the sun and moonstone as an idea formed in her head of where she could get the healing powers. "I'm going to bring you back!"  
  
She gently laid her head back down, Pascal sat on her chest and nervously chirped. Stan stepped back and David held Cassandra's hand tight as he watched the Princess in the hope she would be able to save his daughter. She paused for a moment then brought herself up and went to grab the stone but it backfired as it knocked her back.  
  
"Rapunzel, the sun drop doesn't heal anymore… The power is too strong for you," Eugene said, his voice hoarse as his strength dwindled.  
  
Rapunzel looked at the stone and brought herself straight back up, determined to get to it one way or another.  
"That is a risk I'm willing to take, we did not fight so hard to get our friend back only to lose her now!” Rapunzel replied.  
  
She had taken a deep breath and sang the healing incantation one last time, gold and blue lights swirled around her then spread out, David stepped back as it passed over Cassandra. There was silence for a moment as they waited with bated breath to see any sign of life from her.  
  
Cassandra stirred as she had gradually woken up, she blinked then sat herself up and looked at her friend and her father confused on what had just happened. How did she do it? All the Sundrop power was gone.  
"Raps? Dad?”  
  
Rapunzel smiled for a moment then had another look at the courtyard from over the balcony, although though it was a relief to see her parents were okay physically the view was devastating to see. Her friends, Castle Staff and people had been caught in the crossfire somehow as they all laid down limp and lifeless. Varian, Ruddiger, Lance, Keira, Catalina, Xavier, Pete, Attila, Vlad, Edmund, Felspar, Crowley and many more. It was too hard to tell who was alive and who was dead from that distance, she did not know what that demon had done to them, she just hoped there was enough power left in the sun/moonstone to heal them all. She finished the incantation but this time as the yellow and blue light swirled around she was elevated from the ground then it spread out over the people on the ground and healed them of their injuries. Within a few minutes, they were healed and it shocked them to see her suspended in the air as the lights continued to swirl around her then she collapsed.  
  
Pascal chirped hopped over Cass' shoulder and rushed to his friend's side as quickly as his tiny legs would go, he climbed on her shoulder, squeaked as he tried to nudge her. He hoped it was not what it looked like, that the hybrid stone of the sun and moon had killed her, she was just knocked out. Pascal stuck his tongue in her ear like he usually did when waking humans up.  
  
"Oh so that's how it feels," Rapunzel said with a giggle as she had awakened and smiled at her little buddy.  
Pascal's little face lit up as he hoped on her knees he was so happy to see she was okay, the others walked up the stairs quietly.  
  
Cassandra watched as Eugene dashed to Rapunzel and pulled her into a big hug. Her heart dropped as there was a part of her that wanted to but there was another part that told her she should not, she did not deserve a hug, after everything she did to them.  
  
David had seen the saddened look on her face, he nudged her and put on a little smile.  
"Go, join your friends, it will be alright.”  
  
Cassandra had taken a deep breath and slowly approached them but still could not quite bring herself to face them then Eugene looked up and offered his hand to her, after a few seconds he had taken her by the hand and pulled her in just like Arianna had done with him. For a moment the three of them knelt together in a small group hug, all happy and safe which was more than Rapunzel could have ever dreamed for.  
  
"Well done Rapunzel," Frederic said though it sounded like he looked happy, his tone expressed otherwise.  
  
Cassandra gulped as she felt his eyes burn into her, she hadn't thought of his feelings on the matter, after all, she had promised he would keep her safe and ended up doing the complete opposite. She should have known he would not have been happy to see her face again. She had upset him in the past like the time she helped Rapunzel sneak out, breaking her out of her room, impersonated her during the unveiling of her sculpture but this topped the lot.  
  
"Your Majesty, I know what Cassandra has done these past few months are serious offences of course I do but she-" Eugene said as it dawned on him what was about to happen but he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as David had given him a look to stop talking. There was nothing he could do to spare her, it was out of his hands at this point.  
  
"Father, please try to understand people can change! Cassandra helped bring down Zhan Tiri, I could not have done it without her… She is good now!" Rapunzel pleaded as she kept a hold of her friend.  
  
Frederic breathed a deep sigh, he felt uncomfortable with all the eyes on him which were how people often felt around him except Trevor, he seemed to have been the only other Royal who was not intimidated by him.  
  
"If it was not for Cassandra working with me in the last battle we would all be at the mercy of that ancient demon and most of our people would have been dead, she had done that out of her own free will. She had learnt her lesson, she definitely won't do it again so just let her go," Rapunzel said. "Who knows what it would have done to us, she had risked her life not just for me but for all of us!"  
  
Although it touched Cassandra that Rapunzel tried to stick up for her friend, her anxiety went up as she looked at her old co-workers Stan and Pete wearily, they also looked anxious as their dad would not dare speak against the big boss. It shocked them that even Rapunzel did, although he looked like a great family man his dark side was always the elephant in the room.  
  
"Very well Rapunzel, you made your point… Take this as your final warning, Cassandra," Frederic said as he stared her down furiously. “Cross the line again and it will be the dungeons for you or the gallows."  
  
They all watched in shock as he walked away with Arianna by his side to have some alone time before it was time for them to face the public again. Shortly after the crowd had dispersed as they decided to distract themselves with clean up and a bit of celebration for Corona’s latest victory.  
  
Eugene could not pretend to be unsurprised after having a close shave himself but it had still hurt him to see the fear in her grey eyes. He was also horrified that he was cold enough to say such a thing to a young woman like that, in front of her father even. Did he not realise she meant as much to him as Rapunzel did to himself? The only difference was their circumstances, for the first he had seen the fear in his face when one of the Stabbingtons threatened to harm her. He was worried sick about all the horrid things they could have done to her while they held her captive, surely he had seen a lot during his time as Captain. He would have been just as annoyed with Rapunzel for putting her in that place in the first place but was not able to do anything about it. He did not want to punish her either, all he wanted was to save his daughter, get her back before they could go far or harm her in any way.  
  
"Are you alright Cassie? Sorry, that sounded like a stupid question," Varian asked as he walked to her side. While most spent the rest of the day celebrating the victory over the ancient demon, Rapunzel, Eugene and Cassandra were still in shock.  
  
"Y-Yeah just shaken, I have never been resurrected before," Cassandra replied and put on a little smile which they could all see was fake.  
  
"I have, it's a very weird feeling," Eugene said with a shiver as he glanced at Rapunzel. "Just be careful ok?"  
  
Cassandra nodded, it did feel strange to be brought back to life, she did not even remember how she had died it was so sudden, without really thinking she put a hand on her chest about where the moonstone was. She wondered if that had something to do with it, her general health had gone down since she had first taken it in, along with her emotional wellbeing. Adira had warned her that she did not know what she was bringing herself into, which was true, she wished she had listened to the mysterious warrior. She got distracted from her thoughts as she felt a strong-arm over her shoulder.  
  
"I'm so glad you're back Cassandra, I was really scared I was going to lose you forever," he said as he pulled her into a tight hug. It shocked her to see real tears in his own eyes and all over his face, she had never seen him cry before. He had always been a stiff upper lip kind of person being the Captain of The Guard and all. "Thank you so much, Princess Rapunzel, for bringing my daughter back to life."  
  
"You're very welcome, I could not stand by and watch her die or be made to face unnecessary punishment," Rapunzel replied.  
  
Cassandra sighed as she brought her hand to her’s. "I know you mean well Raps what your dad seemed to of had in mind for me sounded extreme, it would not be right for me to just get off with a slap on the wrist from him... I need to pay back for what I have done somehow."  
  
"We could always use a hand to fix the damage from the rocks back in Old Corona or even here," Varian said.  
  
Eugene nodded as it sounded more reasonable and productive, Cassandra would be able to live and the people would get help with rebuilding their home so it was a win-win.  
  
"That settles it then you can start tomorrow morning, I'll watch over you so you don't get into any trouble... I would hate to see the King go down on you again, I've never seen that side of him before."  
  
"He can be hard, one important thing to remember while you are working for him Fitzherbert, you must watch your tongue when you are in the Monarch's presence otherwise you will live to regret it," David warned him.  
  
"You're scared of my father... That's wrong, you should not feel so nervous around him, that's just how I was with Gothel, it was horrible!" Rapunzel exclaimed.  
  
"That's just the way it is Princess at least he is not as ruthless as his father, King Johnathan, he was very tough if anyone dared speak against him well it was off with their head," David said as he rubbed a finger across his throat.  
  
Both Eugene and Rapunzel gasped in horror, they had never known of beheadings taking place in Corona though they supposed it should not have been such a shocker since they still had the death penalty. King Frederic had lessened it to only hangings although that did not make it any better. Rapunzel was sure that when she became Queen of Corona she would abolish the death penalty, it was just too extreme for her liking.  
  
"You knew my grandfather?" Rapunzel asked.  
  
"Yes, I had started as a guard when I was Cassandra’s age and your father was coming to the end of his teenage years. Growing up he had a lot of influence over him... I feared his dark side would take over then turn into a tyrant as King Johnathan ruled Corona with an iron fist," David said.  
  
"What?" Rapunzel asked.  
  
"It's a metaphor, he means your grandfather was even tougher on his people," Eugene explained.  
  
"That's awful, I hate it when Royals treat their people like garbage," Varian said. "I was just annoyed about how he procrastinated so much when the rocks were ruining my home and whole of Corona. We should have been a higher priority than anything else he was getting up to if he had just focused on our issues we would have been better ready for the battle then maybe, just maybe, this wouldn’t have happened."  
  
"Kid's got a point," Eugene said as he thought back on his trip to Equis which in hindsight was unnecessary but back then he was so desperate for his approval he jumped at the chance to make him happy.  
  
"Oh, I had no idea, Father had never talked to me about him before I thought he never got round to it he had always been distracted with other things," Rapunzel said.  
  
"He does not like to talk about him, he had his portrait taken down when he had died... Once he slapped him in front of everyone during a Royal Banquet when he and Trevor got into some mischief. He told him he brought shame to the family and Corona, it was not the first time nor the last he physically punished him," David said.  
  
“That is horrible but I did not like the tone he used when he talked to Cass and telling her he would send her to the gallows was too far, I will be having strong words with him later!" Rapunzel exclaimed.  
  
"Good luck with that, hope he doesn't put bars on your window again," Cassandra said.  
  
"He won’t, if he did I would just break out again and if you ever arrested I will fight for you!" Rapunzel said. "I will make sure he doesn't start copying his father! Fear is no way to work with people!"  
  
"Thanks Raps but I don't want your heart to get broken again if I do go down for whatever reason do not pick up a fight," Cassandra said.  
  
"Hey, I spent a lot of time learning Coronian law I know my stuff, there are so many loopholes!” Rapunzel said and given her best friend another cuddle.  
  
"Let's just hope it does not come to that, best we steer clear of His Highness for the time being he does tend to hold grudges," David said and stood himself up. "Would you like to come home with me Cassandra?"  
  
Cassandra blinked and stared up at him, the word "home" sounded so strange to her even more so coming from him as they had always lived in the castle. She never thought they would live alone in a house but it was not like she had any other options so she nodded and waved goodbye to Rapunzel, Eugene and Varian.  
  
"Take care you two," David said as he stopped for a moment to say his last goodbyes to his former workmates Stan and Pete. Even though he was no longer their Captain they saluted him out of habit which still kind of moved him.  
  
“Thank you, look after yourself to Sir, glad you see you have your daughter back," Stan said.  
  
"Yeah, it's great to see her back to normal... It hasn't been the same without you but Eugene has been doing a pretty good job so far," Pete said.  
  
David smiled and nodded, once Cassandra was by his side he exited the balcony and shown himself out of the castle grounds, just as they got to the gates they were stopped by a pair of new guards.  
  
"You better start behaving yourself missy, the Princess won't be able to save you next time," one of them said.  
  
"Some hero you’ve become, first chance you got and you messed it up!" The other taunted her.  
  
"You will do well to learn when to zip it, this is one of those times," David said as he stared the two of them down and held Cassandra's hand.  
  
"Thanks for leaving us to deal with your mess Sir, what don't you get? She was trying to kill us and take over Corona!" The second one snapped.  
  
"Hey, Rob, John shut up! It was Rapunzel's decision whether to forgive Cassandra or not, you have no say on the matter so leave her and her dad alone!" Eugene shouted. "Just because he isn't the Captain anymore does not mean you can start disrespecting him now!"  
  
Rob and John frowned and glared at Eugene but moved aside and let Cassandra through, David turned and looked at Eugene with a little smile, he had shown good leadership of the Royal Gaurd, he was capable of disciplining the men when they pushed their luck.  
  
"See you in the morning, 7 on the dot Dragon Lady!" Eugene joked.  
  
Cassandra chuckled as it reminded her of the old days when she and Eugene used to wind each other up and banter.  
"I'll be there Peacock Man!" Cassandra retorted and given him a friendly wave.  
  
Eugene laughed, that was a new one, he supposed he was like a peacock in a way, enjoyed showing off his amazing beauty. It was a kind of bittersweet moment saying goodbye to each other like old friends after everything that had just happened, he hoped that somehow things would start to look up, she would make her dream come true and have a bright future. He would hate to see her face the same fate as those who had done the same or similar offences.


	2. Mend The Bond Torn In Anger

Everybody seemed happy for all the madness to finally be over, well at least at first. Things had taken quite a nasty turn later on as Cassandra walked with her dad through the street.

"She is a menace!" A woman shouted out and pointed at her. "She tried to kill us with that dark magic of her's!"

"She's too dangerous to be around normal people!" A man called out. Other people gathered around, they hummed, nodded and voiced their agreement.

"She is crazy! She should be sent to the madhouse!" George shouted out.

He was one of David's colleagues like Stan he was a rather big guy but more muscular, fair-skinned and thick raven hair, sideburns and a big moustache.

"That is enough, my daughter is not crazy!" David yelled as he approached him, once again his temper was about to get the better of him.

"She is not your daughter, she is a feral stray you picked up in the woods!" George retorted.

"It does not matter whether I am related to her by blood or not, don't you dare talk about my daughter like that again!" David yelled.

"I'm just saying what everyone is thinking, you used to be a great, strong leader now you are just pathetic, you had left us to deal with the monster you brought in! Peter, Stanley and I had worked our butts off for years, risked our very lives for this country yet when you were too weak to fight you handed your job to Rider of all people. You said so yourself that he made a terrible guard!" George sneered as he glared down at him. "You chose that low life street rat over us, now you're trying to bring her back into our lives, she ought to be hanged for her crimes just like anyone else!"

Cassandra gasped as at that moment something snapped in the former Captain as he raised his hand to slap George, she immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Dad no! It's not worth it... If you hit him you will get into trouble for assaulting a Royal Gaurd, that's the last thing I want to happen, you've already been through so much."

David breathed out a sigh as he lowered his arm and backed away. "You're right, we should just go home."

They turned round to walk further down the street side by side quietly until Monty came out of his shop and shouted at her dad.

"This is the last straw, David! You keep that- that freak away from me!"

"Yeah, you are a freak, Cassandra!" A neighbour shouted out.

"Get out of Corona!" Feldspar yelled.

"Traitor! Traitor!" Two other men they did not know had shouted out.

"Witch!" An elderly woman cried out.

"Leave Corona!"

"You don't belong here!"

Cassandra groaned, she may not know who her biological father was but she knew for sure she was Coronan. She did not come from Equis or Arendelle, Corona was her home country, people thought Corona was a place of butterflies and rainbows but it was not. She tried hard to ignore their insults and resist her instinct to fight back as she held her dad's hand. When they finally got inside she had broken down, those words were like arrows in her back.

"Oh honey, I'm sorry you had gone through that, don't take it to heart, they are just being idiots," David said.

Cassandra wiped her hand over her cheek, she didn't understand they were all so happy before, she apologised, Rapunzel had forgiven her, what more did they expect her to do?

"I - I just feel like I don't belong here before it seemed was as though no one cared about me, my mother ran away and didn't even bother trying to get me back. I thought you had taken me away from her on purpose," Cassandra said.

"You were not safe there, sure it would have been easier for me to have just dropped you off in the orphanage but I thought it would be better to raise you myself," David replied. "The reason I never talked to about your mother was I don't know much about her, just her name was Gothel and that she was the one who stolen the Princess to use her powers to cheat death."

"Yes, I soon realised she wasn't exactly the kind of person I thought she was, she was wicked and cold, she treated me like a burden. I am very sorry for being disrespectful to you Father and hurting you back then," Cassandra said. She bowed her head in shame as her dark eyes brimmed with tears.

"I forgive you, I am sorry for not taking the time to at least discuss what I did know about your mother, I suppose I have also been little neglectful that way," David said.

Cassandra shook her head in response.

"No, you did your best, you could have just left me in that cottage or passed me on to someone else but you decided to raise me like I really was your own flesh and blood."

David nodded, he was glad they had, at last, reached an understanding on that issue but there was also another thing that bothered him. She and Rapunzel seemed happy when they had set off on their trip to goodness knows where he could not help but wonder what happened there?

"What brought up the fight between you and the Princess? Was it Tiri that put the idea in your head or was there more to it?"

Cassandra sighed as she turned away from him again and looked back down on the floor.

"With Rapunzel, it seemed like I was just one of her sidekicks, she has a few. The drift had started long before the trip and it only worsened during it. I didn't think she had taken me seriously or even cared about how I felt as though I was nothing more than a handmaid. When I met Zhan Tiri she had put all those ideas into my head about how the moonstone was actually my destiny and I had to beat Rapunzel to it."

At that moment David knelt in front of Cassandra and wiped a tear from her face. "You do matter! You have always mattered to me and Princess Rapunzel, you were so much more than a member of staff, you're her friend although it is unusual for Royalty to have a friendship with their staff, the Queen never gets personal with her handmaidens but she still appreciates their hard work."

Cassandra nodded, she had seen that now, Rapunzel had saved her life with what was left of the sun drop and moonstone.

"I know that now if it wasn't for Rapunzel I would have died in that explosion up on the balcony, I just don't know what to do anymore," Cassandra sighed.

"It's unfortunate what has happened, you cannot go back to being a handmaiden or even join the guard again, " David said.

"I don't want to be a handmaiden Dad, that's not for me... I guess I'm not cut out to be a Royal Gaurd either, I don't want to spend my life looking after the Princess," Cassandra replied as she rubbed her temple.

"The whole point of those jobs is to look after the Royals, why did you not like being a handmaiden? I thought it was a good job, it paid well and it seemed like you had fun together," David said.

Cassandra sighed. "It was good at first but I was so busy running after her I didn't get any time for myself, I know that is part of the job. I can't have a life of my own while revolving around her's, I just wanted to be a somebody!"

David arched an eyebrow as he looked at her in confusion. "Who did you want to be?"

Cassandra groaned as she thought he would have known it was a figure of speech, that was the reason behind Fitzherbert's whole Rider thing. He wanted to be a better person, someone special just went the wrong way about it, she facepalmed, she couldn't believe she had just related to him. The difference was he was acting as a character she was herself, she felt she had no one else to blame but herself, not her dad, not Rapunzel, not even Eugene, she was an adult not some vulnerable, lost child like Varian was, she believed she had no excuse.

"Cassandra, I know you for who you really are, a loyal, brave and caring young lady," David said.

Cassandra shook her head, he was wrong, that was how she used to be she became an abusive and toxic person, she had taken all her frustrations out on Rapunzel and everyone else who disagreed with her. It was no wonder she had been cancelled, no one in Corona would hire her. Once again she wept as it hit her that she had ruined her chances of success, her reputation among the people was in tatters, even people who did not know her before disliked her. She thought she might as well go to Arendelle, far away from Corona as possible. She whimpered and cried as she thought back on her actions. If only she could go back in time and turn away from Zhan Tiri, kept to the plan that they all agreed to. She should have known better that it was not her place to take the moonstone.

"Cassandra, listen."

She frozen, that was just what Rapunzel said when she transformed into that blue monster, Zhan Tiri's human puppet. For the first time since their fight, he looked straight into her eyes and rubbed her cheek.

"The greatest gift and honour is having you for a daughter, I missed you so much!" For the first time in years, he had given her a big bear hug.

"I missed you to Dad but I can't stay here... Once I have served my community service I will have to go," Cassandra said.

David backed away and stared at her with a pained look on his face, he had just got her back and she was talking about going away again.

"You shouldn't-"

"I have to for my peace of mind, it does not matter that Rapunzel has forgiven me, there is nothing for me here!" Cassandra cried.

"Where are you going? Equis? Varderos? Arendelle?"

Cassandra shrugged, she had no idea, Corona was all she ever knew before the trip she had never left the place, it would be one big adventure for her, she didn't know what the culture was like in Arendelle. "I don't know... Maybe Varderos or Arendelle."

"Arendelle... That's very far away," David gasped.

"I know, at least I would be able to have a fresh start there, fortunately, it didn't get to the stage the King felt the need to bring them into this mess," Cassandra said. One thing she did know about Arendelle it was one of Corona's strongest allies, they did a lot to help during the war with Saporia.

"I suppose but that would mean we would rarely get to see each other," David sighed and even got teary-eyed himself.

"I know but I do think it's for the best, I can't expect everyone to forgive me and help me out even after this," Cassandra said.

David pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, those people made it so much more difficult than it already was. He knew what she had done was wrong but she had shown remorse and a willingness to change. If the Princess could see that why couldn't they just accept it? He hated the way she had been pushed out of her own home, none of them were absolute angels that's for sure.

He heard about Felspar's little play, he hated it for the way he demonised his daughter which was partly why she could not even step outside without people giving her abuse. He was a terrible play write, he could have at least changed the names of the people involved. The day was supposed to be about goodwill yet he took it as a chance to bully Cassandra and turn people against her. The whole goodwill thing had always been a load of rubbish to him, people pretending to just be nice to each other for a day.

"It will be alright, we can figure something out... You shouldn't have to go."

Cassandra breathed out a heavy sigh as she leaned her head against her hand.

"Actually Dad, I do want to leave Corona, maybe not as far as Arendelle, I just don't fit in here that's the problem! Women here are just expected to look pretty in dresses while the men fight off enemies and protect us damsels in distress. I was the first female guard, you had always viewed it as a man's job, I wanted to be this great hero but I'm not so sure about that now, I've pretty much blown it."

David nodded, he had understood where she was coming from the gender role stereotypes had been an issue for centuries. "Yes, that's the trouble, I admit I'm guilty of following it... A lot of the men sign up because it's what is expected of them to do by their fathers, it appears to be like the best job in the kingdom. Show how big and strong you are, a few make it through, some just are not cut out for it."

Cassandra nodded, she could understand that on the other side, some of the guys in the guard didn't look like they had their heart in it. Pete certainly didn't, maybe he just joined because he was told to, she remembered watching him during the training, he struggled a lot. She thought he would be the first to go but much to her surprise, he pulled through and got on top of that massive wall. He got himself together and worked harder to complete the tasks, that was something she should have done instead of stealing the moonstone and paired up with Zhan Tiri. She groaned as she facepalmed as she thought she was such an idiot that even Pete had more common sense than her.

"I suppose the King and I share some similarities, we both have the fear of losing our daughters, I don't think he meant any harm by being so controlling of the Princess. It's just when her powers returned he was afraid someone would swoop in and take her away again," David said.

Cassandra sighed. "I know but that didn't help, it made her feel trapped like a bird in a cage. I know it was heartbreaking for him when she was stolen but Rapunzel stood a better chance to defend herself as an adult than she did as a baby. That has always been the problem with both of you if I was a man you wouldn't have hesitated so much to put me in the guard... Heck, you would have encouraged it!"

"True, the thing is I have been in scenes with violent criminals and years ago I was in a battle with the Saporians. I had lost my father, brother and friends, my fear was you getting hurt or worse still killed," David replied. "I had started getting over that fear but when the Stabbingtons had taken you, it all came back as I had seen a lot during my time as Captain. I couldn't stop thinking of all the horrid things they could have done to you!"

The frustration on Cassandra's face faded as she remembered the look on his face when one of them threatened to hurt her with the halberd unless he got his men to back off. He then had to watch helplessly as they dragged her off into the underground tunnels. Fortunately, it ended well as she didn't come to any harm but it could have been very different, they were a dangerous pair stupid but still very dangerous. She also remembered him telling her about the battles and his father. The time the Saparists of Saporians invaded Old Corona and slaughtered the people including children, his friends and brother were killed later on, some of which were her age who had lost their lives trying to protect their country and family. She had always sworn to do the same yet she ended up being the one they had to fight against.

Her dad bowed his head and stared at the floor something he often did to keep his emotions hidden from others. She reached her hand out and held his hand, he lifted his head and looked back at her with a slight smile.

"If that is what you want, I will support you."

Cassandra smiled, for the first time in forever.

"Thank you, Father."

David nodded, he realised it would soon be time to set the bird free, as much as it pained him this was the best thing for her. They say if you really love someone, you let them go and his love for Cassandra had always been genuine.

"You're welcome, just please try to steer clear from any demons in the future."

Cassandra nodded, she would certainly do that, though it only seemed to be Corona that had problems with demons.

David yawned, it had been a long day, he got up and rubbed the left side of his hip, it been sore for quite some time though it had been bearable for a while it had soon got worse. He knew himself he was not going to be physically fit enough to guard the Royals for very long anyway. The last person he expected to hire was Fitzherbert, the top wanted thief Rider, sweet irony. He just hoped he would not let him and the Royal family down as the lives of themselves and their people rested in his hands, it was crucial he kept them all safe from those who would seek to harm them.

"Are you alright Dad?" Cassandra asked.

"Yeah, we should get some rest, it's been a hectic day, to say the least... I'll bring you a blanket," David said.

"Are you sure? You looked like you were in pain," Cassandra got up and approached him but before she could try to examine the injury he backed away.

"I'm just a bit sore from the battle with Tiri but I'll be fine, don't worry."

Cassandra watched her dad carefully she had a bad feeling in her gut that it was more than he was letting on. She bowed her head saddened he had gotten caught up in the crossfire. He had given up his job because he could not stand the possibility of seeing her get killed off for treason. What did he have to do without that? Guarding the Royal family was his life! He spent all of his time looking out for them and helping with anything they needed, yet he seemed to be ok with his new life.

"Here, good night sweetheart," David said as he handed her a blanket.

Cassandra snapped out of her daze and blinked, he hadn't called her that in years, since she was nine or ten. He was the only man in the world she would ever let get away with calling her pet names like "honey" and "sweetheart" if any other guy dared she would pulverise him.

"Thanks, Dad... I hope you feel better tomorrow."

David bent down and given her one last hug for the day. "No problem, don't worry I'll be ok, I hope you will feel better soon, just so you know from now on, no matter what you can always talk to me about anything."

Cassandra nodded and watched as he walked to his room upstairs, all the while he held a hand over the left side of his rib cage. It worried her, she also felt guilty talking about leaving Corona while he was in pain, he was always there for her, the last time he had tried to reach out to her earlier but she pushed him away. After all the abuse she had given him while she was the "Blue Monster" he had welcomed her back with open arms just like that? He needed help, what if it got worse? What if it was something serious? What if he dies? Cassandra buried her head in her arms. Part of her knew her imagination had gotten carried away but another part had pained her heart with guilt.


	3. A Twisted Trick

"Good morning, honey."

Cassandra's lashes fluttered as she had awoken, a small smile appeared on her face as it brought back memories of her childhood days. It was odd hearing him call her things like "honey" and "sweetheart." When she had begun growing up he stopped all the sweet talk and only called her by her name. She guessed that was when the rift had begun to form between them as he got more distant and hard on her. 

She could see why people, particularly criminals, called the Royal Guard the "Royal Dogs" for the way they acted on command without question. They were extremely loyal to His Highness and the Royal family, they revolved their lives around them. There was hardly ever a time she and her Dad got to talk about anything that was not related to work, he seemed to have thought of nothing else but that. She had never known him to have any hobbies or interests, he didn't have the time to pursue any. They never got to have any time together outside of work either so unlike Rapunzel and her parents they never got to part take in any activities together.

"Morning Dad, how are you feeling now?" Cassandra asked as she sat up and picked up her cup, it had been a while since she had a nice drink of tea, she glanced down and was happy to see a couple of slices of bread.

"It's alright, I'm sure I will get better in time," David replied as he poured his cup.

"I thought the hybrid stone would have healed that for you yesterday like it did for everyone else,” Cassandra said.

David shrugged as he walked over to her and seated himself down on the opposite chair. "I suppose it must have missed me somehow or there wasn't quite enough power to heal everyone, don't worry I just have to take it easy for a while."

Cassandra nodded then took another sip of her tea, it worried her very much she considered calling the whole adventuring thing off and care for him instead. It seemed like the least she could do after everything, it saddened her that he did not get healed from his injury, he did not deserve to suffer that pain.

"Dad about yesterday, I'm starting to think-"

She did not even get a chance to finish that sentence as there was a loud bang at the door, they had both frozen in shock at the interruption but after a moment she knew from the horrified look on his face that it was a group of the Royal Guards. He grimaced as he brought himself back up onto his feet, he tried to get to the door as quickly as possible.

Within seconds the door had been forced open and George barged in with three other men behind him. His face was burned with rage as his cheeks turned into a crimson colour and he glared daggers at David.

Cassandra had frozen up as she looked at the men in fear for a moment but then breathed out a deep sigh and walked towards them. She thought she ought to have known this was coming. They looked surprised that she handed herself over so quietly but the second one got the cuffs out and fastened them onto her.

"What are you doing?" David cried even though it was clear what they were doing to her.

"She has been charged with high treason, conspiracy to murder Her Royal Highness Rapunzel and assaulting the Royal Guard. Need I say more? The list of her charges is as long as my arm!" George exclaimed as he took her left arm. "You didn't seriously think His Highness would just make exceptions for the ex Captain's daughter did you?"

"It's alright Dad... I did the crime, I should do the time," Cassandra said. "If I'm lucky I may get out of there alive."

There was a moment of silence as George and Dan dragged her outside, out of instinct David had followed behind them and watched helplessly as they shoved his daughter into the wagon. He felt like bursting into tears again but forced himself not to as just like before it was out of his hands, they were still tied behind his back.

A part of him could not help but feel outraged about how this seemed like a twisted trick, he knew His Highness had a thing for it, he said he agreed albeit reluctantly to let her go just as long she stayed out of his way. Did he just decide to go back on that agreement the next day? Cassandra had made a deal with Eugene which was fair for her and the victims.

This was the second time he had his daughter forcefully taken away from him, the first being the time she was taken to a convent. Being below His Highness he did not get to have a say on how to deal with his daughter but he got to do whatever he wished with his. He was somewhat doubtful, he had hoped it was not going to come to the worst-case scenario that he had feared, a death sentence. His heart told him to storm into the throne room and fight for his daughter but his head was strongly against it as doing so would only make things worse. He supposed she would still have to face trial for her crimes but then again he of all people knew that wasn't necessarily the case. He could only hope he was wrong about it being a sick trick, that somehow Frederick would find it in his heart to spare her life and punish her more humanely.

"Glad that's finally over and that blue monster is off our streets," Monty said as he and Attila worked together to fix the damage in the street. "I could not believe they had just let her walk out like that, after everything she had done, glad they fixed that mistake."

"Hey, that's my daughter you're talking about!" David shouted out. "She is not a monster!"

Monty's jaw dropped he didn't realize he was there, he didn't expect him to lash out either, he put down the dustpan and turned to him.

"I can't understand how you are not angry about this? You had taken her under your wing and that is how she repays you? By threatening to destroy the very things you also hold dear, this country and the Royal family?"

David shook his head, he did not understand no one did.

"It's being dealt with, she may face trial soon, I can only hope it won't come to the death penalty... I'm not trying to condone her actions but I almost lost her forever, I- I can't bear to lose her again."

Monty and Attila stared at the former Captain with no idea what to do, they had never seen him like that before, unsure what to say.

"Hey, it's going to be ok," Xavier said as approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I know Cassandra is not like Zhan Tiri, she had the power of corrupting even the purest of souls, this is all just a big misunderstanding, I'm sure the Princess will come to a fair compromise with her father at some point. As she said if it was not for her efforts yesterday most of us would have been gone by now."

"Yeah, the Princess will sort it out, she saved me from exile remember? She's brilliant, I can't wait for the day she becomes Queen!" Attila said cheerfully. Monty rolled his eyes he didn't think she would be any better than the current one to him all Monarchs whether King or Queen was all the same.

David breathed a heavy sigh and shook his head. "That was different Attila, you were wrongly accused, Cassandra is guilty of what they say she has done. Realistically there is nothing Rapunzel can do, it's for the King to decide what her punishment will be, even when I was Captain I could not have any say in such matters... That's just the way things are."

He turned away from the three of them and continued down the path towards one of the small shops which had been damaged as the windows had been smashed and needed to be boarded up. It would be a while before they were able to get replacements, it would do for the time being. As usual, he had put on a brave face to hide his pain, although he was tempted to go back home and just shut everyone out. He was looking forward to starting a new life with his daughter for real. Not with the ghost version of her like he tried in that strange island with talking leaves and dodgy magic wishing fountains. He was so close to having her back in his life only for her to slip through his fingers for the third time.

"Here, let me help," he said as he picked up a wooden pole for the scaffolding as a younger man struggled to get it into position.

"Thank you." He said.

"You're welcome," David replied.

He spent quite some time building it up but the process speeded up when Xavier and Vladimir joined in.

"What's going on? I thought Cassandra was let off?" Stan asked as he had seen her get dragged down the corridor by George and Dan.

"He just said that to keep his baby girl happy, no way he could have just let her off after everything she's done," George said. "Being buddies with the Princess or daughter of the old Captain doesn't put you above the law you know... As much as she used to think it did!"

"I never said that," Cassandra slipped out.

"Shut up, don't start playing innocent now, we've all seen it… No happy ending for you witch," George snarled as he tightened his grip on her.

Pete sighed as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "He does have a point, she still has a lot to answer for, I knew the King wouldn't just let her off like that but none of us was able to think clearly after facing that thing, the Princess is bound to start kicking off when she finds out… She was pretty much the same as that Varian kid so I guess she will get a year tops."

Stan had shaken his head as his co-workers taken Cassandra downstairs, she was probably going to be put in a cell by the Stabbingtons, that was not a good idea since their first encounter resulted in her being kidnapped but there was nothing he could do.

"I'm not so sure about that, we all saw the way he looked at Cassandra and what he said… I think she's going to get it a whole lot worse than Varian did. He only got off lightly because he was a minor, had he been closer to the Princess' age, well, you and I both know that would have been a very different story."

"True, she is technically an adult now so I guess he won't go so easy on her… Dave's heart is going to be smashed to pieces. It would already hurt a lot now after seeing her being taken away again," Pete said as he bowed his head in sadness as he thought of his former boss.

"Yeah, he wanted to try and stop her before it was too late… He told me about the fight they had when he did eventually find her, she was a completely different person," Stan said. "She got mad because he didn’t tell her about what happened to her Mom Gothel and attacked him similar to what he had seen in his nightmares."

"He had nightmares about her? That was why he quit? He couldn't bring himself to stand up to her? I don't get what she was getting all upset about. I mean yeah, he didn't let her in right away but he had given her a shot, what more did she expect him to do?" Pete asked. "At least she had someone to look out for her, I didn't. You don't see me whining about how unfair life is, God those people annoy me so much!"

"You've changed your tune, you seemed happy for them before," Stan said. "Sounds funny coming from a guy who once complained that I didn't share the lunch with my co-workers. I'm not your father, I don't have to provide for you all!"

"I'm serious Stan, my life was miserable growing up, when I was a little kid Dad had given me up for adoption in the Old Corona orphanage," Pete said. "I never got picked but I didn't want to be a criminal like some of the other kids there so I tried out for the Royal Guard. It looked like such a great job, catching the bad guys, help find the lost Princess at least that way I will be useful to someone. I was hopeless at first but I pushed myself and worked hard so on the last day I was able to get over that massive wall! Bad things happen but it's wrong to take out your frustrations on others it's just non-negotiable. I mean I could stand here and complain about how Eugene shot up the ranks after all the things he has done while I've always stayed on the right side of the law and been working here for most of my adult life but nope I'm just getting on with it!"

"Oh cry me a river you Royal dog!" Andrew shouted out, some of the other prisoners laughed, they liked the sound of that.

"Shut it, I wasn't talking to you!" Pete yelled as he banged on the bars of his cell.

"Woof! Woof! Good boy, keep going and your master might just give you a bone!" Andrew retorted which was followed with a howl of laughter from his cellmates.

"Be quiet! I am not in the mood for your nonsense today, you're not funny or clever!" Peter shouted out.

"Okay, wow you're very grumpy today, these prisoners better think twice before trying anything," Stan joked but his laughter died down when he saw the unusual stern look on his face. "Look I'm sorry you had been through all of that and I'm sure she realizes now how fortunate she was. Listen, people deal with their inner demons in different ways, some are like you can cope, some just aren't able to at least right away. Given the chance they can learn from their mistakes and grow like Ri- Fizherbert and Varian have, hopefully, Cassandra will get the chance to as well."

"Oh yeah, Varian will do well just as long things go his way as soon as the Princess says no again, he's going to kick-off. I'm never taking a cookie from him again that's for sure," Pete said. "When he does come here I will watch him like a hawk and if he dares pulls any funny tricks I will drag him back here!"

Stan breathed a deep sigh as his friend left with a look of concern on his face, it looked like he had a lot of pent up frustration himself. He had not coped well with all the sudden changes in the place such as the former Captain's early retirement nor when he first learned who his replacement was. He hoped he would soon find a healthy way to deal with his issues and not repeat Cassandra's mistake. He was like a brother to him, they had gotten very close over the years from when he had been the one to guide him through it all, it was kind of like what David did for Cassandra, once again his mind circled back to those two, it would have been a lie to say he wasn't disappointed with the way things had turned out. He was excited for her to join the Royal Guard as there had never been any female guards before and thought she could bring great change, she could have inspired other women to try out as well, it would have been a great way to break down the barriers of gender roles that could have been her legacy but sadly it had gone out the window the moment she had taken that blasted stone.

"In here," George ordered as he opened the door for her.

Cassandra had taken a deep breath as she entered the cell where she was to be kept in until further notice, whether she would make it out alive she did not know. It was a small room with a very small window up high on the wall, hard flat beds on both sides attached to the grey stone walls with chains. She sat herself down on the flatbed on the left side of the cell, within a few seconds Dan had removed her handcuffs and without another word exited the cell and slammed the door shut.

"Well, well the Captain's daughter is in prison herself again, is this how he normally grounds you?" A gruff voice spoke up, it was strangely familiar.

Cassandra groaned as she looked through the cell opposite her and seen the pair she hoped she would not have the displeasure of seeing again, the Stabbingtons, this was a nightmare.

"Oh shut up," she hissed.

"Oh, what did you do? Must have been something very naughty," Patchy chipped in.

"Bad Cass, very naughty girl!" Sideburns shouted as he stood up and pointed at her, she supposed that was his impression of her dad. "Dungeon for two weeks!"

Cassandra turned away and tried to ignore their laughter and taunts, just when she thought things could not have gotten any worse they did, she was surprised they were still there after they had attempted to break out. She sat slumped against the wall in her cell, she thought it was too good to be true that King Frederick would have just let her off like that, this was the real world, not some fairy tale as funny as that sounded as she lived in a world with magical flowers, mysterious stones and rocks even dragons. She had a sinking feeling that it was not going to end well for her in the trial that is if she even got that far. She groaned as her stomach rumbled, it had been a while since she had last eaten anything though at the same time she did not want to eat anything. The guilt she felt had already consumed her, although Rapunzel and her dad had forgiven her she still could not even forgive herself.

She thought she had let everyone down, Rapunzel, the King, her former co-workers and most of all her father, he had tried his best to bring her on, he had given her somewhere nice to stay, care and time. He was a very busy man it would have been easier for him to have given her away as by taking her in he added another thing to his full plate. How did she repay his kindness? She thought about how she kicked him in the stomach, threatened to stab him with her sword, trapped him behind a pile of stone and lost him his dream job. He had given that up for her and spent all his time searching for her on his own, he had no one to help him, unlike Frederick.

She thought at least she got to have a bit of time with him before she got arrested, hopefully, he would not get in trouble for taking her out of the castle grounds. It was not his fault, he was not thinking clearly as he was still in shock from her death experience. She knew what he was like, he would have beaten himself up over it, convinced himself it was his fault she had turned out the way she had, that he was a bad father and failed her. Cassandra was looking forward to spending more quality time with him than she ever got the chance to but she feared she never would have the opportunity to do so again.


	4. A Tangled Web

**Thursday 6:00 AM**

_Castle Dining Room_

"Morning my lovely sunshine," Eugene sang he came up to the dining table, he had given her a quick kiss on the head and seated himself down next to her.

"You're still going to call me that even though I'm not a blondie anymore?" Rapunzel giggled.

Eugene shrugged and looked at her with a funny goofy smile. "Why not? You don't need yellow hair to lighten up a room, just a warm heart."

"Aww that's very sweet of you, Eugene, I'm so glad it's all over and we're all going to live happily ever after," Rapunzel said. "It's just as sweet as the stories say." Her smile faded when she had seen the displeased expression on her father's face, he was often grumpy in the mornings but there was just something wrong with him.

"Is something the matter your Majesty?" Eugene asked then his eyes widened as he thought it was because of what he had called Rapunzel. "Too soon? I'm sorry."

Frederic huffed and stabbed his fork into the bacon, his eyes did not have that twinkle like they usually have seen, he had a deep frown on his face to and noticed his moustache twitched a few times, Arianna was unusually nervous as she avoided eye contact with any of them and kept quiet as she ate her breakfast. They couldn't help but wonder if something happened between them earlier.

"Dad, what's wrong? The rocks are all gone and the people are all ok," Rapunzel said. She tried to give him some comfort but it did not seem to be working. "Zhan Tiri is gone for good and Cass-"

"We do not speak of that name in this castle!" Frederic snapped.

Both Rapunzel and Eugene were shocked by his sudden outburst, Eugene gulped and attempted to communicate with his Father-In-Law.

"Which one Zhan Tiri or Ca-"

"Both of them!" Frederic growled. "Any mention of that demon is forbidden and the former handmaiden, she has been nothing but trouble since she came... I should have never let David keep her here!"

"Not this again dad, I know what she did was wrong but she came round in the end, just like Varian," Rapunzel said. "Please don't be like this, don't be the monster they fear you are."

At that moment there was stunned silence, Arianna dropped her knife and fork her eyes wide and her jaw dropped, Eugene gasped and Frederic’s moustache twitched again. They could not believe what she had just said. 

"Is that what they think I am? Some kind of cold, heartless monster? I've always done my best for the people of Corona!" He shouted.

"Father, please calm down... I'm trying to help you, I can't do that unless you are honest with me," Rapunzel said.

"What's the point when you never listen to me anyway? God help you when you become Queen!" Frederic shouted as he slammed his fist on the table. "You just let anyone walk all over you like a doormat!"

Eugene snapped raised from his seat but he could speak Rapunzel grabbed his arm and shook her head. He had taken a deep breath and reluctantly seated himself back down and ate.

Rapunzel felt very hurt by that as those words were like a punch to the gut, made her feel like an idiot. She wished she had left the tower much earlier than she did but didn't have the opportunity. How was she to know that Gothel had lied about her heritage? How was she to know that she was just a tool to her? How could she have known any better? She already felt bad about the whole thing with Cassandra. How was she to know that Gothel was Cassandra's mother or there had been something bothering her so much she became a villain?

None of them had spoken another word but the facial expressions and body language they had shown said a lot. Frederic was full of rage, Arianna was anxious as she avoided eye contact with any of them and kept her head down, Eugene was irritated and tense. Rapunzel looked like she was about to burst into tears, she could not even bring herself to finish the meal. She had gotten up from her seat and ran away, Eugene shot a glare at Frederic and chased after her.

"Frederic, I know it has been hard but you must calm down, Rapunzel is worried about you and so am I," Arianna said. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him in a way to show she meant well. "You haven't been right since you started taking that medicine, it's making you worse."

"I would have been fine if everyone just behaved themselves, Rapunzel was not honest with me when she ran off with her, I only tried to keep her safe and it backfired! I was foolish enough to trust that... Woman to care for our daughter while they went on that blasted wild goose chase, she also betrayed me but no one cares about that!" Frederic shouted.

"Come on now Fred, I understand where you're coming from, she did promise she would keep Rapunzel safe but did not live up to it," Arianna said. "She was also in a position of trust being the handmaiden and a guard."

"Exactly! Why do people find that so hard to understand? If David had done that to me he would have been killed off straight away!" Frederick said.

"Yes, that is true but as Rapunzel had said she came back on our side and fought for us," Arianna said. "She is not evil she was just misguided, she had a lot of personal issues that she did not get to deal with."

Frederic scoffed. "I'm sick of all these excuses and people taking advantage of Rapunzel's kindness. Many people had gone through adversity like some of the guards but never stooped as low as she did."

Arianna sighed as she tried to think of a way to get him to understand.

"I am not trying to excuse her, I know she has seriously hurt Rapunzel and our people but I think there is still hope to make things right again."

"I will never forgive that woman, we could have lost Rapunzel, she only stopped that nonsense when it did not work for her. I am certain that if she had not lost the moonstone she would have carried on attacking us!" He argued.

"You don't know that, we should hear her out, maybe this Zhan Tiri had some mind control power over her, that would explain her out of character behaviour," Arianna said.

"You're saying we should waste more time by having a trial for her? She is guilty! Many people had seen her shooting rocks everywhere and the attacks against our people!" Frederic said. "I do not wish to discuss the matter any further Arianna."

"Fred, please we have been over this, Cassandra has done the right thing, she has come clean and made a deal to help the community with the repairs. She is making an effort to redeem herself," Arianna pleaded. "Please just let her go, the poor girl has already been through enough, she had done her best to put things right yesterday and wants to continue to do so!"

"I will take that under advisement," Frederic replied then stood up and walked off alone for once, it was almost time for his meeting with the Royal Adviser Nigel.

Arianna groaned, she hated when he said that to shut people up, she followed him and looked straight at him in the eyes.

"Think of David, he has been your friend since you were teenagers, he's worked so hard for many years, he deserves a chance of happiness to… He almost lost her in the battle, don't you see how hurt he would be now you've just taken him away from her again? He loves Cassandra just as much as you love Rapunzel."

"David was a member of staff Arianna, nothing more, Rapunzel is better than that unlike some she knows the difference between right and wrong," Frederic said then walked away from her again and as usual shut himself off in one of the study rooms.

Arianna breathed a deep sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose and shaken her head in frustration. She knew in her heart there was a lot more to it than they knew of, it was not a cunning plan she had made up from the start. It was on a whim, she had been manipulated by an ancient demon and she had shown remorse for her actions so why not try to get her back on track? It was not fair he had just ganged up on her instead of being rational and trying to get to the bottom of the issue. It horrified her how he just completely disregarded his one of his most close and loyal friend as just a member of staff, did not even think to consider his feelings? She hoped he was ok, she could only imagine the horrible shock he had when the guards snatched his daughter from him.

She had not noticed Rapunzel was sat on the floor in a corner with Pascal on her lap in the left corridor or heard her when she gasped then ran away with her little chameleon buddy right beside her.

* * *

**6:40 AM**

_High Street, Corona City_

Eugene sighed as he walked through the high street and searched for Cassandra, he was puzzled not to see any sign of her. "Hey, have any of you guys seen Cassandra?" Eugene asked as he approached the four men who worked on the bookshop, he was surprised when one of them turned out to be David.

"Are you serious? You should know that you're the Captain now!" David yelled.

"Has she escaped?" Attila asked.

"Escaped what are you on about? She was never in prison!" Eugene exclaimed he groaned as he facepalmed. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! She said she would be here!"

"She was arrested this morning," David said as he sat down on the fountain, bowed his head and gazed at the ground.

"What? We had a deal! She would help with the repairs and as long as she stayed out of trouble and out of his way he would let her off!" Eugene exclaimed. "You can't just go back on a deal right after making it… Well, there had been times I did but for the King to go behind my back like that, hurts so much!"

"I should have known better, now I'm afraid I will get into trouble for taking her!" David said as he had shaken his head.

"No, no I really don't think he will punish you for that," Eugene said. "I will see what I can do to make sure we resolve this situation fairly."

"Good luck with that, what you may think is fair and King Frederick would be very different," David warned him.

Eugene shrugged as he backed away. "I'm sure it will work out ok, I can be very persuasive with even the toughest nuts!"

David looked down on the ground, he could not see that happening, the bird was back in the cage possibly forever, he pushed himself out of his thoughts and turned to Vladimir and Xavier.

"Just out of curiosity, what did the Guard say when he arrested Cass?" Eugene asked.

"Treason, conspiracy to murder Her Royal Highness Rapunzel, assaulting the Royal Guard, he didn't tell me all of the charges, the list was as long as his arm," David replied. "It looks like His Highness had changed his mind and decided to have her arrested… I should have seen that coming."

"Did something happen yesterday on the way home? I've heard Cass has been getting a lot of grief from the neighbours," Eugene asked.

"There's no point in talking about it now, what's done is done," David said.

"I'm just trying to help but I guess it would be better to have this conversation in private," Eugene replied.

David groaned as he pinched his nose, the way he usually tried to keep himself calm and avoid a heated argument.

"You don't have any control over the situation... What the King says goes."

"Not necessarily, Kings don't always know best," Eugene said. "I could try to get him to see it from your perspective, you are both dads and love your child with all your heart."

"What I think does not matter, it's not that simple... I made that mistake yesterday after seeing her die, King Frederic had almost lost Rapunzel to because of Cassandra, no matter what she does, he will never forgive her," David replied. "Anyway now is not the time for this, these buildings aren't going to fix themselves!"

Eugene sighed, he guessed Cassandra had picked up on the habit of blocking things out from him. He was not himself, he wasn't the bossy boots he had come to know, he looked so hopeless.

"You're right, what needs doing?"

* * *

**7:00 AM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra had not moved from the bed, she laid down with her back to everyone so no one would see her cry. She tried to keep her whimpers quiet so the Stabbingtons did not catch on either, they would only start teasing her again, they had been quiet for a while and she wanted to keep it that way. She could not do with having their voices thrown into the mix of the many others she already and her own had that played on in her head over and over again.

'Monster!'

'Freak!'

'Witch!"

'Traitor!'

'Get out of Corona!'

'This is your destiny, Cassandra.'

'This is mine! This is my destiny!'

'Rapunzel is trying to keep it away from you."

'Destroy Rapunzel!'

'Why have you turned your back on the Princess?'

'I've tried to tell you Rapunzel, you have to be careful who you trust.'

'Cassandra!'

'I command you to surrender!'

'Villain!'

She wiped the tears from her face and taken in a shaky breath, it was agony to hear them all shouting at her and Zhan Tiri's lies, she hated the person she had become, even if His Highness was to give her a trial she could not see it panning out well... There was so much against her, to him she was just as bad as Gothel so did everyone else. No matter what she said or done, no one would be able to see her as anything but a monster.

"Cassandra, are you okay?"

She jumped when she heard that voice, the sound of keys jingling and the creaking noise of the cell door as it opened, she glanced over her shoulder and was quite relieved to see Stan, she thought it was strange how he had talked to her so nicely, she was a criminal, a traitor. Why was he being so kind to her when other guards treated her very coldly and harsh she had seated herself up reluctantly as she had shown very clearly that she was not okay, her eyes were red and puffy, dark marks underneath, her hair a greasy and tatty mess as she didn't have the chance to brush it.

"Here's your breakfast, it's not much of course but uh-“ his voice trailed off as he became lost for words, he had carefully set the tray down by her then tried again. "You still need to eat up, your dad won't want you to starve yourself."

Cassandra glanced at the meal before her then turned away.

"I'm never going to get out of here am I? What's the point? Dad should just forget about me and move on with his life!"

It devastated Stan to hear her say that, although he was not supposed to, he had seated himself beside her on the bed and looked her in the eyes.

"He can't do that, he loves you with all his heart, you're his daughter and the only family he has left so when you died a part of him did to... He got so scared when he had seen the explosion on the balcony, he did not care if it was unsafe for anyone to go up that was why I chased after him, I tried to stop him but he wanted to see if you were okay. I dread to think of what would have happened if the Princess was not able to heal you. Honestly, I don't know what is going to happen but for both yours and your Father's sake I hope your trial goes well for you."

Cassandra had tensed up, her heart skipped a beat when she heard the 'T' word, it terrified her more than anything as that would mean she would have to face His Highness again.

"Wait... I'm going to be on trial?"

"Possibly, they have to figure out whether you did attack a guard or not... Did you?" Stan asked.

"N-no of course not, I had taken the King's warning very seriously! Is that what you think this is about? Just hitting a guard?" Cassandra said.

"That's what I've heard but some have also said that His Majesty is going to be pressing all charges against you," Stan replied. "I'm as confused as you are, this thing has been a whole big mess."

Cassandra sighed as she bowed her head and put her hands on either side.

"This is all my fault."

"Pretty much yeah, you sure do take pity parties to the extreme Cass," Pete said as he walked down the aisle, stopped for a minute and shot a nasty glare at her.

"Like you are one to talk, cut her some slack, she's trying to do the right things now!" Stan scolded him then turned back to Cassandra. "Ignore him, he's been a right sour puss lately."

"Cut her some slack? Really, Stan?" Pete said. "What's even the point of this place? Why don't we just set all the prisoners free? I'm sure they didn't really mean any harm when they killed someone or hurt them in any way! Surely deep down they have a good heart, several months or years is enough time for them to spend down here!"

"I like the sound of that!" One of the prisoners shouted out.

"Something is wrong with Pete, sure he has always been a bit irritable at times but not this much, he has never had that kind of attitude before either," Cassandra said. She had never exactly been great friends with him but she knew him well enough to know something was off.

"I don't know what's the matter with him... Since we got back in here in he's changed, he's been more aggressive and seems to be losing his humanity," Stan whispered. "I don't like the kind of man he's starting to turn into but I have no idea what to do."

"I heard his little rant, no sympathy yet he was nice to Dad and me before," Cassandra said. "It looks like something has snapped inside of him, reminds me a bit of myself... He needs some serious help before he gets worse, has he been hanging around with anyone shady lately?"

Stan breathed a heavy sigh, he was trying to help her as she was the one in need, her very life was on the line.

"Now is not time to be discussing that... You have been charged with a lot of things, of course, there's high treason, assaulting Princess Rapunzel, assaulting a Royal Guard. There is also kidnapping, two counts of attempted murder, false imprisonment, destruction of public and private property with disturbing the peace some of these often come with very severe sentences," Stan said. "Are they all true?"

Cassandra had frozen up in shock as all the memories of that time flashed in her mind she was told that to get the full power of the moonstone she would have to kill Rapunzel, she had held Varian against his will and a bunch of other things.

"Cassandra?"

She tried to speak but words failed, she was guilty of most of those things, yes she has hurt Rapunzel a lot didn't go out to kill her.

"No, I didn't try to murder anyone but with the other things, I am guilty… I did attack the Princess a few times."

"Oh… No wonder the King is being so hard on you, nothing angers him more than someone hurting his daughter," Stan said.

"Yeah, I noticed… I also promised him I would protect Rapunzel while we were away so much for that, I'm an even worse guard than Fizherbert and that says a lot," Cassandra said she leaned her head on her hand and breathed out a deep sigh as she thought back on that day.

"I order you to take me to Cassandra!"

Both Stan and Cassandra were shocked by the sound of Rapunzel's voice, Pete was right on one thing, they couldn't see her as she was outside at the doorway and Pete blocked her path.

"You're not allowed in the dungeons Princess, go paint a wall or something," Pete said in an emotionless tone.

"Pete please, find your humanity! Can't you see what all of this is doing to her? You were there so you know she had died fighting for us, she does not deserve this treatment!" Rapunzel pleaded. "She was going to try and make amends with the people by helping them, just let me see her... Please!"

Stan sighed as he walked out of Cassandra's cell and tried to deal with the situation as Pete did not handle it well at all. "I'm very sorry Your Highness but with all due respect we can't do that."

"Why not? I am Royalty that qualifies me as a State's person so I do have the authority to give orders," Rapunzel asked.

"Visitors are not allowed in the dungeon and yes the King has ordered us to keep you out of it to, if anything happened to you while you were in here, we would get it in the neck," Stan replied.

Pete snickered as he had shaken his head at her. "You can't overrule the King's orders, Princess, you will have to take it up with him."

"Believe me I will," Rapunzel growled as she crossed her arms and glared at him, she did not like his attitude, she was the Princess she was ought to be treated with the same respect he would give to the King.

"Yeah... Good luck with that," Pete said then shut the door in her face and was about to go back to the task of giving the prisoners their meals when Stan roughly clamped a hand on his shoulder.

"What's gotten into you, Pete? You know you never talk to the Princess like that!" Stan shouted.

"What? I just told her the facts… I would have thought she would have at least known that." Pete said.

"Don't laugh at her! She's only young and has been a Princess for less than a year also her fiancé is our Captain now remember? If he sees you like that you would be in for the high jump," Stan said.

"I would rather die than listen to you two bicker every day, honestly Cass this is a fate worse than death," Lady Caine said.

"You made your bed, you lie in it, in ten years you will be free just as long as you behave yourself!" Pete said as he had unlocked her door and handed her her meal then went straight back out.

Rapunzel was surprised by the change in Pete's character, he used to be so kind and friendly, she couldn't understand what made him become so cold and mean but she didn't have time to think about that. She needed to get to the bottom of the problem with her father and Cassandra. She stormed out of the dungeon and charged towards the King's study, the one with the sculpture of Corona, Nigel stood on the opposite side with a stern expression on his face.

"Father!"

"What is it now Rapunzel? Can't you see I'm busy?" Frederic asked there was a hint of a growl in his tone.

"The guards have arrested Cassandra on your orders!" Rapunzel shouted.

"I told you to never say that name in this-" Frederic yelled.

"Stop it! How could you lie to me again? It was not just me, you tricked Cassandra and Captain, her father! After everything they have been through!" She shouted back.

"The former Captain is not her father, stop this nonsense and do not take that tone with me, young lady!" Frederic shouted.

Nigel gulped as he watched the pair of them, their voices got higher each time they had spoken but as uncomfortable as it was, he knew he would not be doing his job if he didn't try to calm them down.

"Ok, ok Your Majesties, stop for a moment fighting will not help either of you," he said as he put himself between them. "King Frederic please try to explain to your daughter calmly what the situation is."

Frederic had taken a deep breath then after a moment of silence, he had spoken. “I received a report this morning that... Cassandra had committed another offence, I meant what I said if she had committed another offence she will be brought to justice."

Rapunzel's eyes narrowed, she frowned and crossed her arms, this Princess was not going to buy it without solid proof.

"What was her crime?"

"Assaulting a Royal Guard on her way home last night," King Frederic replied.

"Who, pray tell, was this mysterious guard? I know all of their names now," Rapunzel asked.

"Stop this meddling and trying to protect that woman, she was going to destroy you to take the powers for herself! She is just as bad as that Gothel!" Frederic yelled.

"Cassandra is nothing like Gothel, yes she has been nasty in the past but unlike Gothel she had seen the error of her ways and put in the effort to make amends! She saved our lives, she should be released!" Rapunzel shouted.

"She only did that because it did not work out, do you really think that if she had not of lost her power she still would have changed her mind then? You give her too much credit, it was you who saved the Kingdom Rapunzel. not that witch!" Frederic shouted.

"You're missing the point! She did help me with bringing down Zhan Tiri, my powers were fading, there was no way I could have done it on my own, we both saved the kingdom!" Rapunzel said. "I will ask you again, which guard reported Cassandra to you?"

Frederic was silent then turned his back to Rapunzel, he stared off into the distance and watched the staff come together to repair the balcony and the grounds of the castle. He did not like to admit it, he had just caught himself up in a very tangled web.


	5. Caught In A Trap

**Thursday 7:30 AM**

_King Frederic's Study Room 1_

"Father?"

"I cannot tell you Rapunzel, the guard said he wished to be kept anonymous, he doesn't want you or the Captain hassling him," King Frederic said.

Rapunzel groaned as she crossed her arms and glared. "That's not fair! How are we supposed to sort this out if he's hiding away? We need to know which guard Cassandra is accused of attacking for the trial! Just let me see her, I can get her side of the story and-"

"Stay out of this Rapunzel, you are too naive for your good and your personal feelings for that woman has clouded your judgement!" Frederic shouted.

"I am not! I lost my innocence a long time ago when I learnt the truth about Gothel, I've been through so much more than you could understand! I am nineteen now, I'm not a child anymore!" Rapunzel shouted. "Just because you are the King it does not mean you can do whatever you want to Cassandra!"

"I know my place!" Frederic yelled much louder than before which had shocked both Nigel and Rapunzel. "It is time you learned yours, go to your room!"

Rapunzel was stunned, she did not expect him to turn on her like that, she opened her mouth to speak but words failed her.

"Now!"

Rapunzel stormed out of the room and slammed the door roughly behind her, Nigel breathed a heavy sigh, this meeting hadn't gone well, seeing the King in such a furious state made him more nervous than usual. He had not seen him like this since Rapunzel had been taken.

"Your Majesty, please try to keep calm, I don't want you to get sick again!"

"I'm fine, Nigel!" Frederic said with a hint of a growl in his tone which showed very clearly he was most definitely not "fine."

"Are you sure Sir? I am concerned about your emotional state, you do seem to be... Very upset," Nigel asked.

Frederic sighed as he turned his back on the Adviser and watched the few members of staff as they worked below, what Rapunzel said earlier had struck a strong chord with him. He thought everyone had forgotten about his father, people never spoke of him before, he feared they would spread rumours, compare the father with the son. "Do you think I'm a monster, Nigel?"

Nigel gasped in shock, his eyes darted back and forth. "No, no of course not! You mean well, protecting your daughter from those who would take advantage of her generosity, Cassandra has been very dangerous... She had caused great harm to your daughter and your people."

"She had tried to kill my daughter and for what? To satisfy her hunger for power, if anything I've been too lenient on her, she will pay for everything she has done!" Frederic yelled.

Nigel sighed, sometimes he wondered what was the point of him, he just did what he wanted anyway. The Monarchs and the heir didn't often listen to him, if ever. "If that is what you wish Sir, how exactly do you plan to do this?"

Frederic glanced over his shoulder and looked at him with a vicious glare.

Nigel gulped as he knew just what it meant when he had given that look, it was not going to end well for Cassandra...

* * *

**9:00 AM**

_High Street, Corona City_

The men jumped as they a plank of wood crashed onto the ground, Attila, Hook Foot, Vlad, Lance and Xavier turned around and seen the former Captain in a way they never expected, Eugene stood beside him unsure of what to do as he had fallen onto his knees, he had tensed up, just after he had dropped the plank he clasped his right hand around his left wrist, he stared at the plank with a very frightened look in his eyes. He had also started shaking, it was subtle at first but then worsened in a few seconds. He slowly released his wrist to support himself, the group became more worried as his breaths became heavier and faster.

"He's going to kill her... My daughter... He's going to kill her!" He cried as he buried his head in his arms and continued to shake, he didn't even seem to be aware he was doing it.

"Move out! Give the poor man some space please!" Eugene shouted as other people crowded around him and David. "I said move out!"

The crowd quickly dispersed but still chatted and whispered about how strange the former Captain of The Royal Gaurd was acting, some had the cheek to say he had gone "mad" which boiled the young man's blood, some people were so ignorant, he was unwell and there they were about to kick him when he was down. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Xavier approached them and knelt by David so he was on level with him.

"It's ok David," Xavier said gently, he had soon realised what the problem was. "David, look at me... I need you to breathe with me ok?"

David showed a fleeting sign of confusion at his neighbour's words, he was asking him to breathe along with him? He didn't understand how that was going to help but went along with it. He responded with a shaken nod and gulped to clear his frantic throat.

"Alright, first breathe in," Xavier instructed as he demonstrated by taking a deep breath himself.

David tried to follow his move although his first attempt was shakey and slipped out a few choked noises. Xavier continued to guide him through the pattern, he paused for a second then carefully exhaled.

"Now breathe out."

David tried to breathe out smoothly but again quivered.

"That's it... In again," Xavier said. "Hold... and out."

This went on for a while as Xavier urged him to unclasp his fists as he exhaled, David struggled to keep his focus on the simple act of breathing as Eugene and the other men watched. He did not notice Eugene also followed along with the pattern as he felt the need to calm down to keep himself from exploding in fury.

"Very good," Xavier said after a short period of silence, he seemed relieved that David's breathing was steadier and the colour returned to his face. "I suggest you take a break, for now, you seem to be very overwhelmed by recent events... Take some time to just focus on your breathing and if you wish you can return when you are feeling well."

David nodded, he slowly got himself up and moved to the fountain, he straightened his back, closed his eyes and resumed the pattern.

Eugene sighed as he watched him, it pained him to see him in such a state, he had no idea what he could do, he was going to have a big fight on his hands to save her life.

"What happened?" He asked as he stood himself up and rejoined the group.

"It appears David was having a panic attack, he is afraid of losing his daughter again... I know that pain all too well, I have been there myself with one of my loved ones," Xavier replied. He picked up the plank David had dropped and placed it into position above him.

"I'm very sorry to hear that Xavier... Thank you for stepping in and helping him out, I had no idea what to do... I had never seen anything like this before," Eugene said.

"I'm sure he will be alright... He just needs some space to think and breathe," Xavier said. "He pushes himself too hard, it was only a matter of time before his health started to deteriorate. Best to keep an eye on him, Captain, he may not want to admit it but he is very ill."

Eugene nodded, he noticed he had not been right since he had seen him in Terapi Island, he was struggling to handle his emotions. He had seen his daughter die then brought back to life he could only imagine the terror he felt at the possibility that she could be killed, this time deliberately. 

"Woah... I had never seen this side of him before, is he ok?" Lance asked.

"No Lance, he's not... He is still in shock from when the guards had taken Cassandra and is scared about what the King is going to do to her," Eugene replied. "Take my place, I'm going to take care of him."

Lance nodded as he watched his friend tend to his former boss then got back to work. He was also saddened to see the older man in such pain, he had just become an adoptive father himself. It would have broken his heart if Keira or Catalina were suddenly snatched away from him. He would fight tooth and nail for them but understood that in his case it was not exactly going to be possible for him. King Frederick still had him under control even though he was no longer working for him.

* * *

**01:00 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

"Come on Cass, it's been an hour, a hunger strike isn't going to help you," Pete said as he came into her cell to return her tray, he had heard she didn't completely eat her breakfast even though Stan gently prompted her, she had not even touched a little bit of her lunch, he breathed out an exasperated sigh as he picked it up.

Cassandra ignored him, as she turned over onto her side, there was no point in arguing with him, he wouldn't listen or understand what she was going through, his dark place was different from her's. He would not get how she still could not forgive herself for her wrongdoings, everywhere she turned she hurt someone. She couldn't change the past, she only wished she could, she hated herself so much. She hoped something would come to just take away her pain. She even wished that Rapunzel had just let her go when she had died, her efforts were in vain. There was no point in bringing her back to life if she wasn't going to have the chance to live one.

"She skipped lunch to?" Stan asked.

"Yeah, don't know what more we're supposed to do... Doesn't she know what will happen if she doesn't eat her meals when she's told?" Pete asked.

Stan breathed a sigh. "No, I don't think she does, I can only hope it does not come to that... Doing such a thing to a young lady is disgusting even with a young man it's just cruel!"

"If she carries on being this difficult then it will only be a matter of time before someone alerts His Highness and he likely will give the order for it," Pete said.

"She is not being difficult! She is suffering from emotional issues, she's scared for her life because her friend's dad is possibly going to kill her for real!" Stan shouted.

"Here we go, stop making excuses for her, need I remind you she almost killed us?” Pete asked. "Ok, maybe not directly but she brought that beast to us! I couldn’t even sleep last night without seeing that thing in my head! Heck, some people have died because of it, sadly the Princess was not able to heal all of them but that doesn't matter right? Cass is good now, don't punish her, it was not her fault!"

Stan had stopped, his cheeks had turned red, his hands got into tight fists. "You think she ought to be hanged to? How many times do I have to tell you not to listen to George? He twists things, that's what he always does! Yes, she did some horrible things but she does not deserve that fate!"

"What and those people did? They were completely innocent and suffered so much because of her pettiness! If she just gets off with a slap on the wrist and scot-free where is the justice in that?" Pete shouted.

"She never meant for those people to get hurt that was Zhan Tiri's doing! Cassandra had died fighting for us, if it were not for her we would all be dead and that demon would be free to do whatever she liked to our kingdom! What the King is doing is not justice, it's revenge!" Stan yelled.

Cassandra was stunned as she watched the pair of them fight although part of her was touched by the way Stan had stuck up for her, it had broken her heart to hear that some people had not survived the battle, she thought the hybrid stone had healed every one. It had not reached to all of the people in Corona. It had not lasted very long, it did a few things then vanished into space. 

"This is the second time one of the Princess' so-called friends had hurt her, of course, he is not going to be willing to let her off lightly! She's nothing but a no good, lying, cheat-"

"Shut up!" Stan yelled as he lost his cool and pushed him against the wall, he dropped the tray, the bowl shattered and the gruel was splattered all over the space between them Pete pushed him back though he did not have the strength to hurt him as much as he had then for a moment both of them had frozen in shock their fights had never gotten that rough apart from that time they were under the influence of the mood potion.

"Peter... I'm sorry, I-"

"Save it, just get outta here so I can clean up your mess as per bloody usual!" Pete shouted then he knelt and picked up the pieces of the bowl. "You don't want to face the truth fine but don't come crying to me later."

Stan's face hardened again, he turned and left him to it as he requested, it was clear that he was not going to be able to get through to him this time.

"It just had to start raining didn't it?" Eugene muttered as he ran a hand through his damp hair and hung his jacket on the back of his chair. Just as he had tried to comfort the former captain the heavens decided to open and unleash a huge downpour. Corona weather was weird but on the plus side at least it was not another major snowstorm he really could not do with one of those again. He shivered a little bit as leaned on his desk and he held his head in his hands in an attempt to soothe his throbbing headache, he had wracked his brain trying to figure out a way to help Cass and her dad to get through this ordeal. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in!"

"Captain, I'm worried about Cassandra, she won't eat her meals... I've tried to talk and comfort her but she still isn't getting any better," Stan said. "She hasn't moved from her bed either, she just looks completely numb!"

"I was afraid this would happen, I'll try talking to her," Eugene replied. "I wish I could just release her right now but my hands are tied... Now I know how her dad felt."

Stan nodded, he understood that the King was the one who had ultimate control but that was not the only thing that concerned him, he did not like the way some of his co-workers had been treating her calling her names like "witch" and "freak" or just being cold-hearted like Pete was. He never thought he would ever have fallen out with him like that but it frustrated him so much when he tried to explain what real justice was.

"Is there something else Stan? Do you have any idea on who was the idiot that had set up Cassandra?" Eugene asked in an irritated tone.

"I honestly don't know but I have some suspicions," Stan replied.

"Well, that's something, who are they?" Eugene asked as he seated himself up, intertwined his fingers and looked straight at him.

"Well, George, when he and Dan brought Cassandra in, George was very aggressive with the way he was handling her," Stan said as he fidgeted with his moustache.

"What did he do?"

"He held her arm too tightly, bullied her saying she will not have a happy ending and called her a witch," Stan replied. "He has also been telling other men that she is responsible for all the casualties during the battle and meant to kill us all which is untrue. He often twists things to turn people against each other for his selfish gains."

"Right, I'll be having some strong words with him, anyone else?"

"Well, there's Robert and Johnathan, who I had seen also be abusive towards her and I had scorned them but they continue to do so," Stan said.

"Thank you for telling me this Stan, you have been a great help!" Eugene said. "It's sad that I'm struggling to even trust my boss and Father-In-Law since he had done it behind my back."

"I just want to help get her through this, I've known her and David for a long time so has... Peter, it is awful that they have been put through this," Stan replied.

"This is just cruel, I don't know what the King is thinking but it seems like he's doing this to get revenge on Cassandra for what she did to Rapunzel."

"Yeah, he has made it very clear that he has a strong dislike to her, he banned us from even mentioning her name," Eugene said. "This has been hurting her dad to, he had a panic attack today while we were working on some houses I know it hasn't been long since she had been arrested but he is worried sick, naturally. He is afraid that he is going to lose her forever, that the King will have her killed off... I wanted to say she won't but I can't promise him that as I'm sure you know."

Stan nodded it was devastating for him to hear that he had been in that much pain but he also knew they that if she were to be sent down to that place there was nothing they could do to save her.

Eugene nodded but then looked at Stan with a puzzled look on his face, there was something off, he called Pete by his full name and hesitated they were best buddies like him and Lance, he had noticed that there had been a tension between them lately but didn't think much of it before.

"Is everything okay between you two?"

"Huh?"

"You and Pete, how have you been getting along lately?" Eugene said.

Stan had breathed out a deep sigh, he wanted to avoid talking about him in fear of that he would become a suspect. He didn't like the attitude he was using but knew for a fact he would never falsely accuse Cassandra to the King. True, he had been very cold and rather mean to her but he was not malicious.

"It's nothing, we've just... uh... Had a fight."

"Why is that? Did he say or do anything to upset you or Cassandra lately?" Eugene asked.

"I'm worried about him since the battle with Zhan Tiri he hasn't been his usual goofy, friendly self," Stan said. "He seems to have a lot of pent up frustration, I've tried to help him but he won't listen and keeps pushing me away."

"Oh, I see... He did get seriously hurt during that, I guess that could be why he has been acting this way," Eugene said. "I will have a quiet word with him later, I think his experience in that battle has traumatised him as it has with many people... We must deal with it now before he gets worse."

Stan nodded. "Yeah, he was almost killed that day, he had seen many other people get hurt but was completely hopeless as he was unable to do anything to stop it... Rob and Dan also pick on him to which I suppose partly explains his unusual aggression."

"Okay, that's two people who need help Cass and Pete but make sure you take care of yourself to Stan," Eugene said. "You are a big guy with a huge heart and that's great, I'm glad you're here to look out for Cass, I know the last Cap had this whole stiff upper lip thing going on but I want you to know you can talk to me if you're not feeling good or something is bothering you."

Stan nodded. "Thank you, Captain... I hope in time things will start to look up."

"No problem, that's my job, after all, to look after you lot... I may be the top dog now but I need the whole pack to stick together otherwise we're going to be in for a load of trouble," Eugene said as he got up and followed Stan outside and headed to Cassandra's cell.

It had been a while since he had last been to the downstairs dungeons, he was surprised to hear crying, it was a woman... Oh no. He rushed to Cassandra's cell and stood outside the door.

"Cass? Hey, what's the matter?"

Cass looked at him with a deadpanned expression, it was fairly obvious what the "matter" was. She was in jail, this time it was for real with the possibility her former boss could have her killed or banished to the middle of nowhere. She had also learnt more people had been hurt because of her mistakes.

"What do you think Fitzherbert? You know the story! I paired up with an evil demon, stolen the moonstone from Rapunzel and endangered the people of Corona!"

"Ok so you acknowledge you have done some... bad things, that's a good sign, shows remorse and a willingness to change, listen I know some people have been saying you are responsible for those who had sadly died but that is not true, that was Zhan Tiri, you still saved many others from the same unfortunate fate, ideally, everyone in the Kingdom would have been saved to but sadly there was not enough power to do so don't beat yourself up," Eugene said.

Cassandra had fallen silent as she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, she found that hard to believe. Pete's outburst was like a hard punch in the gut, to think she had the blood of those people on her hands. It sickened her as she felt tight knots in her empty stomach.

"Also please eat your meals... If the King hears that you have been skipping he could order some of the guards to force-feed you," Eugene pleaded. "Although I have never been there myself, it is a horrible experience and I do not want you to be put through that... You don't have to eat it all just most of it."

Cassandra put her forehead against her knees to hide her face from him, he didn't want him to see her cry. She had always thought crying was a sign of weakness, she did not want anyone to see her like that.

"I'm going to help you get through this Cass, you're not alone... I have my right-hand man Stan to look out for you while I'm out, he told me about how some of the other guards have been treating you. I am going to be having some strong words with them," Eugene said. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you."

"Really?" Cassandra asked.

Eugene nodded. "Yeah, life's going to be like lemon sherbet when they face the wrath of Captain Eugene Fitzherbert!"

Cassandra chuckled which warmed the young man's heart, he rarely heard her laugh even a little. He guessed that was because she did not have much to smile about let alone laugh at.

"No one is going to harm you, Cass, you're safe with me," Eugene said.

Cassandra lifted her head and stared at him, that was just what her dad said when they first met. For a moment she had a little flashback of that night, it changed her life forever.

"No one's going to harm you little one, you're safe with me," the young man said as he knelt and put his helmet on her head.

She had broken down into tears, she did not understand where was her mamma? She wanted her mamma.

"Shh, shh, it's ok, I'll keep you safe," he said then carefully lifted her, his big strong arms made her secure and warm.

"Captain, what's with the kid?" George asked as he had already mounted his horse. "We're here to get the lost Princess back home not someone else's child!"

"She needs my help, she's only an infant... She's not safe there," David said.

"Ok, are you going to drop her off at the orphanage? I heard they are getting quite full, more strays than people who are willing to take them in, they soon grow up and become criminals then wind up in the dungeons someday. People should think before they go on to reproduce," George said as he shook his head.

"It's not necessarily the parent's fault, things happen... Anyway I'm not taking her to the orphanage, they are already full," David said.

"Do you know someone who can care for her then? Another family member? Her father possibly?" George asked.

"No, I don't think she has any other relatives... Her father does not appear to be around, possibly was one of those players, love them and leave them," David said. "Not all orphans go on to become criminals either, some of the workers in the castle had come from orphanages, they are one of the most decent, kind-hearted people I know, don't judge people before you get to know them."

David lifted Cassandra and placed her at the front of the saddle, she looked bewildered as though she had never been on one before, she stroked the white stallion's mane which was tied up in neat buns along his neck. He prepared himself to climb on to, he also carefully stroked the stallion's neck to calm him as he tensed up.

George was confused, he said he wasn't going to bother with the orphanage or pass her on to another family member then what was he going to do? Take her in and raise her as his own? He shook his head then realised that was exactly what he was planning to do.

"Captain, you don't seriously think His Highness would let you keep her, do you? Especially considering how his child is missing!"

She looked up at her dad as he had frozen up, he looked so sad, he also looked down at her, for a moment they looked into each other's eyes.

Without realising it Cassandra had broken into tears, it was strange how she was able to recall that much before she could only see a little bit of it, she paused when she saw Eugene's hand in front of her as he handed her a handkerchief. She slowly wiped her tears away and sniffled.

"Thank you... Captain."

"You're welcome, it's going to be ok, I will do whatever it takes to help you get through this," Eugene said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Cassandra nodded, she wished it were that simple, she knew he was new to the whole Royal Guard thing but was as naive as some of the recruits. He could not promise that everything would be "okay" yes, he had power as Captain of The Royal Guard just like her father did but it was limited. If it did come to the worst-case scenario he would not have the power to stop it. She was trapped in a cage with no way out, even if she tried it would likely not end well for her. His Highness would send "The Royal Dogs" after her, she could not put her dad through that again.


	6. Stormy Weather

**Wednesday 12:00 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

A few days had passed since Cassandra was taken into custody, she had stared blankly at the ceiling as she laid on her bed, she had completely lost track of time. She did not know whether it was Monday or Friday, she had gone past caring anyway. She was just completely numb, she barely moved, she didn't see the point in even getting out of bed. She had nothing to do, no one to see apart from the guards and other prisoners. She didn't even jump at the sound of her cell door being opened anymore, she had soon gotten used to it.

"Try not to drop it this time Peter," Dan taunted as he and Pete did the rounds delivering lunch to the prisoners, the usual junk that somehow passed as food. "We can't keep replacing bowls for these lot."

"That was not my fault, Stan pushed me!" Peter hissed, though he had gotten so flustered he wobbled and accidentally spilt some of the gruel. "Ah, now look what you made me do! Can't you just leave me alone for one day?"

"How old are you? Ten? You can't even do a simple job like that right, letting you into the guard was a mistake," Dan said as he unlocked the Stabbington's cell door. "You're completely useless, you might as well just quit, you'll only slow us down when we get attacked again."

Cassandra watched as he unlocked the door to her cell, she felt a bit sorry for him she had no idea that he was how he was being treated by other guards, that seemed to partly explain why he was more angry than usual. It was not bantering like she used to have with Eugene and Lance, it was bullying and it looked like it had been going on for quite some time. She never thought she would see similarities in him, he had kept all those negative emotions bottled up and was close to exploding. She hoped Eugene would be able to save him from doing something he would later regret like she did.

"Here's your lunch whether you will have it or not I don't care but if you carry on like this the King will order some of the guys to force you to," Pete said as he stuck the tray in the corner. "You can't go through trial if you're sick."

"I'm already sick Pete… The guilt is killing me, I know it doesn't matter what I do he's never going to forgive me," Cassandra said. "By the looks of things you are sick to…You're being bullied and you're suffering from trauma, I'm sorry I had caused you so much pain, I didn't mean for you to die… I didn't expect Zhan Tiri to use the decay incantation on you all."

Pete scoffed as he exited the cell. "The other guards always make digs at me, it's nothing new so don't start pretending you care now, you never cared about anyone but yourself… You're only sorry because your plan did not work out."

Cassandra breathed a heavy sigh, she did not know how she could show people how much she regretted what she had done, it surprised her how much it hurt to have someone like Pete be so cold to her, she guessed she should not have been as she had not always been very nice to him either, now the tables were turned, she was the one being shouted at and looked down on. She glanced down, it was the usual gruel, she reluctantly picked it up and made herself eat a couple of spoonfuls, it tasted as bad as it looked, like soup made with potatoes gone bad it made her feel sicker than she already felt but when she was threatened to have it forced down her she did not have much choice. She wondered how her dad was doing, she knew he would not be okay. The complete opposite, she had heard from Stan that he had tried helping people with repairs, she hoped he did not push himself too much in his condition. If it didn't heal soon he would need serious help, she knew what he was like he would put his own health on the back burner even if it was something very serious.

* * *

**13:00 PM**

_David's House, New Corona_

David watched the rain through the window, he listened to the pitter-patter sound of the drops on the window with a few echos of thunder in the distance he found it quite soothing, in a strange way. While everyone got themselves back inside and wait out for the sun to come back out but for him, it seemed like the sun would never shine again. He got up from his bed, he had been there all morning, he had spent a lot more time in it than he used to. Once he got home after he had last helped with the repairs he went straight back to bed. He just felt numb… He was low during the seemingly endless search for the Princess but this was different, the pain he felt was much worse. Back then he was able to look on the positives and the bright side, it was like that when he ventured off to Terapi Island, with the fun games those strange talking leaves did, the chance to pretend to live out those childhood moments he wanted to do with Cassandra, this time he could not see any bright sides, just darkness.

He picked up the wooden box that he had placed in one corner of his room, he then taken it downstairs and sat at the table, he lifted the lid and pulled out the items one by one, he smiled at the model of Maximus, he had some fond memories with that horse. He found one of Cassandra's attempts of making a "mini-me" he had a flashback of the day their last Guardian's Day together.

"Wait… You actually like these things?” Cassandra asked as she handed the figure over to him.

"Like them? I love them!" He said as he opened his cupboard where every shelf was filled with all her gifts from over the years safe together. He chuckled as he remembered the joke he had made to her that day to, a typical dad joke.

"Oh, I know! How about one that's life-size? I can put it right outside my office to glare at everyone!"

He then picked up an old drawing she had done for him while one of the maids had cared for her while he went out in search for the Princess. It was a portrait of him, the proportions were off but you could still see his likeliness and the big moustache. Tears streamed down his face as his mind went back to the day she had given it to him.

"Daddy! Look Rose had given me some paint and I did a picture of you!" Four-year-old Cassandra said as she raced up to him.

"Aww, that's brilliant sweetheart, well done!" He said as he picked up the drawing and glanced at it.

"Look, Daddy! I did another drawing of us with the lantern!" Five-year-old Cassandra said as she held up a piece of paper. She was upon his shoulders and they watched as their lantern joined the thousands of others in the sky, he smiled as he thought back on that day to.

"One, two, three," he counted and released the lantern.

"Wow!" Cassandra gasped as it flew away. "I hope the Princess will come back this year, daddy."

"Yeah, I hope so to honey, I’m sure we will get her back soon," David replied. "She's got to be out there somewhere."

He clutched the drawings to his chest, his most precious possessions as, unlike most things he could not replace these. He missed those days so much, all those sweet memories were such a long time ago, he couldn't believe how quickly it went, he was so desperate he had gone to Terapi Island to sort of go back in time and start again. He did not realise until later that the new baby Cassandra was just like a ghost and Rapunzel was right, it did more harm to him than good. The problem was he had no one to go to for help, not even Stan and Pete could have given him a hand as they were busy keeping up with the Princess, the pressure was high to protect her at all costs. He was all alone, he breathed a deep sigh as he realised he was still alone, he had no one to help him as he did not know anyone who understood his pain. Most of the people had already voiced their strong dislike for his daughter. He had nothing to take away the pain he felt, everyone else he loved was already gone. Cassandra was all he had left to lose, he couldn't see a path out of that dark place or his future, he wasn't sure if he could even face another day.

He felt like a total failure, as a father and as a Captain, he had failed to prevent the kidnapping of Rapunzel and the Queen, failed to find the Lost Princess, most of all he thought he had failed his own daughter. If only he had taken the time to pay more attention to her, discussed with her about what he did know of her mother, rather than just brush her under the carpet. He thought he should have been there to give her the guidance she needed in order to resist the temptation Zhan Tiri had given her, he was angry with himself for not seeing the signs earlier. How she felt left out, unappreciated, unloved, pushed aside like she was nothing special, her insecurities especially around Rapunzel, the famous Lost Princess of Corona.

He was so close to putting things right with his daughter again then she slipped through his fingers. The part of him that died when she did, it seemed to have begun to die again as he had fallen into despair. She was the reason he bothered to get up in the mornings, he held on tight to the small piece of hope that he could save her from herself before it was too late and even though some people had tried to reassure him that it may not come to the death penalty, he could not believe them. After everything he had seen during his time as Captain, he had lost count of how many people he had killed off. They sometimes went without a trial, usually guilty of serious crimes but also some rather minor ones. If Fizherbert had not been the one who brought The Lost Princess home he would have been a goner, his blood would have been on his hands, it was very rare that he cancelled an execution. He very much doubted the same would happen to Cassandra, she had already saved Rapunzel and Corona but His Highness refused to believe it. He was never very fond of her but his dislike had intensified to hatred. No matter what Eugene, Rapunzel or even Cassandra herself did, he would not let her go. He put a hand on the window looked out in the direction of the castle, a place that used to also be their home and was soon to be her place of death. He did not know how he would be able to carry on after she was gone, she was all he had left to lose.

* * *

**01:30 PM**

_Mainland Corona, High Street_

Stan sighed as he walked down the street as the second downpour began, people rushed indoors to get out of it, very few stayed out it reminded him of the day he met his best mate Pete he passed the wall by the baker's where he met him, for a moment he had a flashback of the younger man who sat on that very spot, miserable like the weather as he was down on his luck. He had shaken himself out of it, he was not that same lost and hopeless young lad anymore, it was like the "old Pete" had been killed by Zhan Tiri although Princess Rapunzel had brought him back to life, it seemed like he was still dead on the inside. The friendly, funny, kind and caring parts of him were gone, his heart had frozen, he only felt misery and rage.

"Everything ok honey?"

Stan looked over his shoulder and seen his wife Lily as she put a hand on his shoulder. She had a worried look on her heart-shaped face and dark green eyes, she was quite slender but her stomach appeared to be growing, fair-skinned, long dark brown hair that was tied back in a low ponytail with a blue ribbon she held a white umbrella, wore a simple blue dress with a white long-sleeved, buttoned-up shirt underneath and her work apron. He turned his glance onto the ground, she was able to tell from the disheartened look in his eyes that he was not "ok."

He wanted the "Old Pete" back, to return to the good old days with his little brother like the day of his wedding where he was his best man, their silly squabbles and the activities they sometimes joined in with the community but like the Captain, he felt hopeless and lost. He had no idea how he was going to get Pete back to who he was, save him from dropping to the rock bottom of the downward spiral like Cassandra had. It was easier to get him out of a physical storm than an internal one. He also worried about his former Captain, unlike the others, after he had heard that he was not well and seemed to have shut himself off from everyone.

"I'll be alright sweetie… It's just work has been very tough lately, with Cassandra, I'm going to give her father a quick visit while I'm here since nothing else appears to be happening."

He ventured away from the high street and made his way to his former boss' home, when he knocked on the door there was silence and had waited quite a while for him to answer. He did not look well, he was pale, dark marks under his eyes, his hair a mess for someone who had always taken care of his appearance this was a worrying sign. Once it registered to him who was at the door he had tensed up, his eyes widened in fear and backed away from him.

"Don't worry, you're not in any trouble… I just thought I would check up on you while I'm here," Stan said, it was devastating to see him look so scared by the uniform that he had once worn so proudly as he went about his duties. In hindsight, he thought perhaps it would have been a better idea to visit after he had finished his shift although then again that was late into the evening so maybe not.

David sighed in relief as he bowed his head, he was one of the few people he could trust especially in those days.

"Thanks, Stan... Come in."

Stan entered the house, he had seen the small models of a Royal guard that looked quite similar to the former Captain, Max, a few small drawings of him, he soon realised these were gifts from Cassandra for birthdays and Guardian Day.

"As you can see I am not ok... I am ill... I haven't slept for a week, my hip is killing me and I can't even go outside without someone insulting me!" David cried as he had seated himself down.

"Yeah, you don't look well at all Sir, I'm sorry to hear that, who has been insulting you? I could have a quiet word and politely ask them to shut up," Stan said.

"The neighbours, I've tried helping them with the repairs but I give up... This damn place, it can crash and burn for all I care! No matter how hard I try, my work gets thrown back in my face!" David cried as he leaned his head against his hand. "All that goodwill stuff is a load of nonsense, as soon as all the fun and games end they all go back to being at each other's throats!"

Stan nodded, he had noticed that himself, on that day everyone acted all nice and sweet to each other then everything goes back to normal, they certainly were not willing to give him or Cassandra any goodwill.

"I miss Cassandra so much... I would do anything to have her back but I'm afraid that she's going to be sentenced to… Death," David said as he leaned his head against his hand.

"I know, she misses you too... A lot," Stan said although it saddened him when he said that he no longer cared what happened to Corona, he had always loved it, he had lived there all his life, it was all he ever knew, he had never gone overseas. He didn't even know what to say about his fear as since she had been brought in he had a sinking feeling it would happen as those with lesser crimes had often got sent down to the gallows like Cain's father. He had noticed Frederic had started to become the vengeful type of King like how he had heard his father was. He always had to get his own back on those who had wronged him in some way usually it was just as petty but he could see it turning dark. He had shaken his head and sighed.

"Although I am not a father myself, probably never will be but I can at least understand how you feel… I can only hope it doesn't come to that but none of us has any say on the matter, not even Fitzherbert."

"Thank you, Stanley, how is Cassandra holding up? Although I know many of you are decent, there are some men who are sadly rather twisted," David asked.

"Well, to be honest, she's having a hard time... She rarely moves from the bed or entirely eats her meals, if at all, I try to help her when I'm there. It pains me to see my co-workers being mean and aggressive to her. I've always called them out and tried to make them stop," Stan said.

David's face had fallen when he heard those things about his daughter how miserable she was. Of course, he didn't expect her to be happy down there but he did not want her to feel so down she stopped looking after herself. It also pained him that his concern for other guards mistreating her was true although he was glad she had someone to look out for her.

"Yes, that's typical of them to go behind the Captain's back… Thank you for supporting her Stanley," David said.

"Yeah, if the King gets wind of it well, I'm afraid he's going to order that they force-feed her... That's just horrible, putting her in with men she does not know or trust and shove that stuff down her throat... If that were to happen I can't stop it," Stan said. "Some of those guys are real jerks… They get some kind of kick from seeing people suffer, they're just as bad as some of the prisoners." He sighed again as he had shaken his head and frowned.

"I wouldn't put it past him, he would be tempted to make her feel the pain he thinks she had put Rapunzel through, it isn't even true that she assaulted a Royal Gaurd that day! Now people are spreading all sorts of rumours about her, some even had the audacity to say I was in on it because I left to search for her!" David shouted as he slammed his fist on the table in frustration then taken another look at him. "You seem troubled, did something else happen at work?"

There was a moment of silence, Stan was tempted to open up to him about his struggles with Pete like he did with Eugene but just before he was about to speak he stopped himself, the poor man was already going through enough. He didn't want to burden him more with his stress and digress from the main subject of their conversation.

"I'm just so frustrated... I want to help you and Cassandra but can't think of what to do, I'm just a regular guard, I can't get His Highness to listen to reason, not even the Captain can do that."

"I appreciate the effort you've been making with looking out for my daughter Stanley, she is in a very vulnerable state, which they seem to be taking great advantage of," David said. "I knew I couldn't get His Highness to either so I had to leave my post… Cassandra was my responsibility, I thought I would be able to stop her before she got worse."

Stan nodded. "Yes, they have sadly done so whenever the Captain's back is turned... You were made to pick a side and stepped back, that was the right thing to do for you, it didn't work as well as you hoped but you did your best. If His Highness does order them to do that I'll do my best to support her."

"Hmm, how could the men take him seriously when even His Majesty doesn't? Time was running out I had to choose between my duty to the King and my heart," David said.

"I can understand that, it was a shock at the time being so sudden but I respect you for following your heart,” Stan replied. 

"Thank you, Stanley," David said. "You're a great man, one of the few I can trust around here!"

Stan nodded then stood himself up and prepared to exit the house. "No problem... I hope you get better soon, take care of yourself... I better return to my post."

* * *

**02:59 PM**

_Castle Throne Room_

Frederic had carried on his Royal duties as somewhat normal although the joy the people felt after the battle had died down as they were highly stressed mostly by the damage to their homes and businesses from the rocks. He swore if he heard about those magical rocks one more time he would lose it, he was sick to death of it.

"King Frederic, the rain is getting worse we are having a month's worth of rain in a week… If it carries on Corona will be flooded!" Marcus cried out, he was an elderly man, he was just about half of the King's height, he had a bald patch at the top of his head, few strands of white hair around his head and a large moustache.

"Great, just what we need… What do you suppose we do?" Frederic asked though he was relieved that it was something unrelated to those rocks.

"We cannot prevent it though Varian and his father are trying to build defences if it's as severe as I fear we may need to evacuate," the elderly man said.

Frederic breathed a deep sigh, he did not think it was that bad, just like April showers though he hadn't really paid much attention to the weather but he was hopeful they would survive a flash flood after pulling through a sudden snowstorm.

"I understand your concern, I will see what they come up with and how the weather goes."

"Please be careful Your Majesty, floods are very dangerous," Marcus said then exited the room.

Once he was gone Frederic groaned and leaned his head on his right hand as he had a splitting headache that he had been able to hide from the people for the last two hours. He really hoped he was the last one.

"That is all everyone," Nigel said as he closed the doors, there were some moans and groans as per usual but he had learnt to take the hint when His Highness had enough for one day.

"Your Highness, are you alright?"

Frederic looked up and seen one of the guards beside him, he seemed to of had a genuine look of concern on his face. He guessed he should have expected that after Varian had given him and Arianna amnesia.

"Yes, I'm okay… Joseph just got a bit of a headache that's all."

"George… Anyway, we are having some difficulties with a certain madam, it appears she may need some assistance for her-" He swirled his right hand as he looked for the right words. "Dietary needs… She has been in prison for almost a week now and has not completed a single meal despite a gentle push from one of my colleagues."

"Is she really? What does she think that would achieve?" Frederic asked, even without saying names he knew exactly who he was referring to.

"I suppose if she makes herself ill enough she will get out of the trial, can't question her if she's no longer with us… It's something criminals sometimes do pull off when they are getting, well, desperate," George replied.

* * *

**03:20 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra ran her fingers through her messed up hair, she tried to untangle it without damaging her locks, it was harder than she thought. The tats made her short bob feel really uncomfortable, she hated the greasy feel of it to. She failed to remember when was the last time she washed it, she had gotten so caught up in mastering her new moonstone powers she had neglected her self care. She breathed out a heavy sigh as she leaned against the wall her bed was chained to and put her knees against her chest and listened to the rumble of the thunder outside, she didn't know how much more of it she could take. She just knew there was worse to come, she still heard those voices in her head on loop with a few extras added in. She still felt hurt by the cold shoulder Pete had given her which was strange, she never thought she would have cared if he did like her or not.

She also worried about Rapunzel, she did not want her to get into any trouble with her dad, she feared her heart would get broken again if she were to die at the guards' hands. She certainly had a voice and not afraid to use it but unfortunately, she did not have the power to put behind it being a Princess and by the time she got to the throne it would be too late. She hoped she would find another friend who she could bond with as closely as she did with her, maybe a new handmaiden or someone outside the castle. Another young woman who she could really trust and rely on. A tear slid down her face as she imagined Rapunzel living life with another woman in her place, having fun adventures out in the big wide world. Walking down the aisle with her where she married the love of her life. Strangely it had upset her to think she would miss out on those milestones in her life, she would not get the chance to see her firstborn child which had never passed her mind before. Earlier she would not have cared about any of that but having that opportunity taken away from her hurt a lot more than she ever thought it would.

She lifted her head up when the door had creaked open, she gulped when she had seen George, Dan and Johnathan there.

"Let's get this over with," George said as he opened the door and strolled in with his two lackeys behind him.

"W-Where are you taking me?" Cassandra asked as she backed up against the wall in fear, she put a hand over her throat as she figured that they had come to execute her. "Oh."

"We're not going to kill you… Not yet anyway," George said as he grabbed her arm, Dan got hold of the other.

"Play it well missy and you might just survive," Dan sneered as he and George pulled her up then dragged her out of her cell, they had picked the time when the Captain was preoccupied with sorting out someone else's problem.

"Hey, Pete my man!"

Pete groaned as he heard the voice of one of the last people he wanted to see as he moved onto his next job of polishing the weapons, it was bad enough he was left to do it all himself since Dan was late.

"Good afternoon Captain, how are you?" Pete asked as he picked up the cloth and rubbed it against the blade of a sword, his tone was unusually flat and his expression had a look of irritation.

"Hey, what happened to the friendly Royal guard?" Eugene asked as he put an arm around his shoulders. His smile faded as he observed his out of character behaviour usually he had a happy, "can do" attitude. This time he looked resentful and angry as he shrugged him off.

"Nothing is wrong with me... I'm doing just fine... Captain," Pete replied through gritted teeth.

"Really? It looks like you are the complete opposite of being fine, you are not usually this miserable, you're the lovable goofball!" Eugene said.

"Not anymore I'm not," Pete replied as he paused for a moment. "That part of me died in the battle against that... Thing."

"Hey, you know you can always talk to me right?" Eugene said as he raised a hand for a high five, he usually went along with it but this time just huffed and went back to polishing. "I mean it, I don't want you to feel like you have to shut off your emotions, you need those! Otherwise, you will find yourself in a very dark place. It's worrying how you've been acting lately, you look on edge like you think something is going to jump out and attack."

"After everything that's happened, I wouldn't be surprised... First, there was Varian with his giant raccoon then Cassandra with that goat, octopus monster!" Pete said as he knelt down and tried to focus on the long blade in front of him.

"Yeah, I know, they were scary but it's been sorted now... Varian is better now and so will Cass if given the chance," Eugene said. "I just need to find a way to get the King to see that... I mean just look at me I was a real jerk back in the day, now I'm a hero!"

"Good luck with that, His Highness can be very... stubborn," Pete said as he resumed to polishing the sword.

"Right? He's been so closed-minded he won't listen to anyone!" Eugene exclaimed. "Yes, Cassandra was in the wrong, no one's debating that but we made a deal to make up for it, dragging her back here wasn't necessary."

Pete shook his head as he furiously wiped the blade of another sword. "That's it? After everything she has done you are going to try and get her released as if she was innocent the whole time?"

Eugene blinked, dumbfounded at his change in attitude... Before he seemed happy for her to go and start over, he breathed an exasperated sigh, it looked like he was already in that dark place. "We had a deal, she would help with the repairs to the shops in the high street but before she had a chance someone had set her up."

"She betrayed the Princess, The King, The Queen and the rest of us... She caused terror to the people, more than the Saporian Separatists did with their last stunt, endangered their lives with that demon and you seriously think just doing some chores is enough? Did you even think to ask if the people did want her help?" Pete asked then paused for a moment to take a breath."Ever since her attack during the Goodwill Festival some people have been too scared to go out anywhere, they stay at home with their families with their doors locked up, she risked our lives for her own selfish gains and you're just going to let her live happily ever after?"

To say he was just angry would be a big understatement, Eugene had never seen him this furious, he could see why Stan was so worried. "Pete, come on, to be fair she helped Rapunzel to bring down Zhan-Tiri, she was losing her powers... Cass had given her the last piece of the moonstone so she would have enough power to fight. She came back into Team Awesome, she did the right thing in the end, she does not deserve this treatment now," Eugene said. "The King had pardoned me when I brought back Rapunzel, it would be very unfair not to do the same for Cass!"

Pete huffed as he resumed to polishing the sword. "If Cain said she was sorry for crashing Rapunzel's coronation and attacking the King again would you let her go? Since you're trying to have certain wrongs allowed now, you let that Rider copycat thief off didn't you?"

"No! I'm not doing this for just anyone... I know Cassandra, I had seen her fight Zhan Tiri with Rapunzel, I had seen her die, her dad needs her back, he's sick and he doesn't have anyone else to care for him! I am trying to get His Highness to see that," Eugene said. "He needs to find his humanity again."

"Do you really think he gives a toss about the former Captain? He doesn't, once we have served our purpose he doesn't care what happens to us," Pete said. "The King is the boss, not a friend... Why do you think he left so suddenly? He had to choose a side between us and his daughter."

"That's not right... You can't just disregard people like that, he was more than a guard he was a human being, he had done so much for the King over the years, he should not have felt pressured to pick a side. He could have at least checked on how he was doing emotionally while Cass was gone!" Eugene said.

"That's just the way things are, we're here to serve His Highness and the Royal Family, our personal issues don't matter, it's just different for you since you will soon be part of it," Pete said. "You should have at least known that."

"Hey, I haven't been a guard for very long and I had just gotten this job when you have people working for you their well-being is important. You can't expect them to do a good job if their head is clouded with misery or anger!" Eugene said.

"We all know that hopefully, we won't get attacked again soon or God help us... It really doesn't, we're here to serve nothing else, all of that stuff has to be set aside to focus on the tasks we are given," Pete replied. "Like I'm trying to do now but someone keeps bothering me and Dan hasn't turned up so I'm left to do it all myself!"

"Now I know you are most definitely not fine, this is not like you... Don't tell me you had just eaten something that was not in its natural colour again?" Eugene groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. The memories of the time Varian had given him purple cookies with a sneaky bit of truth serum to make him slip out the sun drops location came to mind.

"Ah yeah, that's just like me, isn't it? The idiot who would fall for a stupid trick like that," Pete muttered as he turned his back to Eugene and got back to work.

"I didn't mean it like that, I'm not saying you're an idiot... I'm just trying to figure out what is the matter with you, I heard you and Stan have fallen out, care to explain that to me?" Eugene asked.

"That's none of your business... Captain," Pete replied as he tried to keep his focus on the dirty sword.

"I would rather not have to deal with this extra drama right now but I am your boss, I need you all to be getting along, we are like a big pack of wolves, we need to stick together to work!" Eugene said. "Just stop being awkward and talk to me!" 

"I am talking to you, there's no one else here," Pete replied.

"Were you like this with the last Captain? I am only trying to help you so less of the attitude please!" Eugene said.

"The last Captain didn't stick his nose into things where it didn't belong! Don’t you have bigger things to deal with right now? Just leave us to it," Pete shouted.

Eugene sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, it was like he was dealing with an angsty teenager rather than a thirty-odd-year-old man. "Ok fine... I'll leave you to it, I just wanted to help because Stan was upset and I can't leave my workers in distress! Your well-being is my responsibility as your Captain."

"He talked about me to you? That jerk," Pete growled as his grip on the hilt and the cloth tightened.

"No, no, it wasn't like that... He was just concerned about you and now I am to but I can't help you if you're being like this," Eugene said.

"I don't need your help!" Pete snapped.

"Ok, ok, this is clearly going nowhere... You're dismissed for the rest of this week," Eugene said. "You're in no fit state to be working right now, I'm starting to think that you are under the influence of the mood potion that was the only other time you were like this, it should wear off soon."

"Fine... Polish the swords yourself," Pete muttered as he put the cloth down on the table and removed his helmet.

"Hey, I am your boss now, it is time you start showing me some respect otherwise you will find yourself out of a job again!" Eugene yelled just as the door was slammed in his face, which had just infuriated him further.

Pete paused, how did he know about his past? He held his helmet under his arm, he thought maybe George was right, the system was broken beyond repair ever since the former Captain left them to deal with the mess his precious little girl had made suddenly being best friends with the Princess put someone above the law, Eugene thought he could pick and choose who was to be released and dared to undermine His Majesty's judgment. Cassandra's feelings were more important to him than the people he was supposed to protect. George did not need a mood potion, just his words were enough to make him frustrated with the way things were going. Just as he had walked out of that corridor he had seen George, Dan, John and a couple of other guys as they dragged her back down to another room to give her their "assistance." She lifted her head up and looked at him with a desperate look in her eyes as though she was pleading for his help.

Pete shrugged as he glanced back at her. "I tried to warn you, Cassandra, this is what happens when you don't do what you're told here."

"Come on, move it!" George shouted as he roughly yanked Cass by her left arm. "We don't have all day!"

Cassandra whimpered, she was terrified, she didn't understand, she had eaten at least some of the gruel like Eugene had told her, why were they doing this to her? Oh, one of them had lied to the King again! She couldn't believe how they got away with doing such things, suddenly she had a newfound sympathy for some of the prisoners. The way Pete had spoken to her reminded her so much of herself when she had taken the moonstone. The time she had told Rapunzel to be careful who she trusted, it looked like she was not the only one who failed to follow that advice. She had always trusted him enough to have her back during the battle in Old Corona when she did need help he stabbed her in it, she supposed that was how Raps felt on that day.


	7. Through The Storm

**03:40 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Stan breathed a heavy sigh as he entered the downstairs dungeons, he had planned to fill in Cassandra on her dad's wellbeing and how The Princess was very persistent, she was going to try and make a deal with her dad to allow her to visit Cass, possibly have her mom accompany her, he very much doubted that would work, Frederic would be too afraid of someone harming Arianna. He had also been more protective of her since the Varian incident like Rapunzel she had a group of men watching over her, it had taken some doing to get him to lay them off so she could have some peace. It soon dawned on him as he walked down the corridor that it was too quiet, not even the Stabbington's kicked up a fuss like they usually did, Lady Cain looked just as furious as she did the day she was brought back in but did not say anything. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door open, he turned expecting to see Pete but to his surprise, it was Captain Eugene.

"Where's Pete? He is usually down here right about now?" Stan asked.

Eugene sighed as he put his hands behind his back.

"He's been dismissed, the talk did not go as well as I had hoped… I tried to be nice but all I got was an attitude which I am sure he would have never given to the former Captain, it's just so frustrating that even after everything we've been through some of the men are still not taking me seriously."

Stan had shaken his head as he breathed out another sigh. "He definitely would not, Dave was not the kind of guy you would want to mess with but some of the guys are still rather bitter that he had supposedly chosen you over them."

Eugene huffed, he really could not be doing with such pettiness, he had never set out to be Captain but he was trying his best, he was not sure why exactly David had chosen him to be his replacement but he went along with it. He had got them through the battle in one piece, taught them more effective ways of catching criminals from personal experience, what more did he have to do for them to start taking him seriously?

"For his sake, I just hope he will be in a better mood when he returns next week… I don't want to fire anyone but if he keeps pushing me, I am going to have to."

Stan didn't reply but instead nodded, although he did not want to see his little brother end up back on the streets which he had tried to save him from but he could understand where Eugene was coming from, he had to discipline those who had crossed the line between the regular guard and Captain. The former Captain would have just fired him on the spot, he supposed since Eugene was different some of the guys thought may just get away with not taking the position as seriously. He thought the new Captain was surprisingly generous to have just dismissed him temporarily instead of instantly firing him.

"It will be alright, Stan… I've seen this before, he'll come round eventually, now let's go and see how Cassandra is doing," Eugene said as he put a hand on Stan's arm in a way to comfort him as he had seen the same disheartened expression he had seen on David when he told him and Rapunzel about his confrontation with Cassandra.

"Are you sure about that? He was filled with a rage I had never seen when we had the fight…That guy is not Peter," Stan replied.

"I know, I know, I have been there with Cassandra, she has always been like a little sister to me you know, not the close kind… The sort you just had to put up with, hopefully, she's doing better now," Eugene said.

"That's what Pete is like to me, a brother, sometimes can get a bit annoying like when he used to moan about little things and be kinda clingy… One time during lantern night he hugged me and he got so upset when Rapunzel had split us up for the treasure hunt even though it was just for one day like a little kid if the guys had seen him like that he would never live it down," Stan said. "It was almost like he was giving me away when he was the best man at my wedding! I guess he was like that because he was very lonely when he was at the orphanage… He had become clingy when he got close to me, he doesn't really have any other friends apart from me although Dave did try to warn him that there will be times we'll have to split up."

Eugene nodded. "Yeah, I have seen that with Cass and her mom… She never seemed to have thought that much of her before then she was suddenly obsessed, she could not remember much of her… Zhan Tiri had taken everything out of context when she told her about her mother and made it look like David had abducted her."

"That's awful, that demon really knew how to twist things… Like a certain someone I know, I wish her luck for the trial, she's going to need a lot of it," Stan said.

"Cassandra is not here."

Both Stan and Eugene had frozen for a moment and stared at Joseph as he stood at the other end of the corridor.

"Where have they taken Cass? Don't tell me they had just-" Eugene's voice trailed off as panic had set in, he rushed down to the end and stared at the empty cell in horror. "You only thought to tell me this now Joe?"

Joseph shrugged. "King's orders, what are you going to do? I just got here to cover for Pete since I heard he's going to be out of action for a while."

At that moment Eugene had seen red as his blood boiled again, he groaned annoyed with himself for the way he had wasted time trying to sort out Pete when he could have stepped in and saved Cassandra from that torture. He turned his heel and marched out of the dungeon and marched up to the main study room, he was going to have some very strong words with His Highness.

Stan leaned on a wall and shaken his head in dismay, everything he had hoped would not happen came to pass, he dreaded to see what state she would be in when she did return to her cell.

* * *

**  
03:50 PM**

_David's House_

David had soon dozed off while he sat at the table, he had already slept half of the day and was still drowsy, he held the miniature wooden figure of himself in his hand as he dreamed of happy times with Cassandra.

"We've got a new foal, would you like to meet him?" He asked as he knelt on the ground so he was on level with his five-year-old daughter. He thought he would have a bit of fun with her during his break and show her some more of the castle grounds.

Cassandra nodded then taken his hand and followed him to the Royal Stables, where she had seen the new boy horse, he was white with a blonde mane. He seemed to be very boisterous as he hardly ever kept still.

"We just got him today, he is a bundle of energy soon his training will begin," David said as he opened the gate, the young stallion stopped prancing about and came up to him and appreciated his affection as he stroked his cheek. "What do you think we should name him?"

"Horse," Cassandra replied.

"Horse," David repeated and chuckled under his breath, he guessed he shouldn't have been surprised, she called things as they were she didn't even make up a name for her owl teddy that she had carried everywhere. "If we all called them that we wouldn't know which one's which."

"Okay, White Horse," Cassandra said then glanced around to see how many other white horses there were, she spotted three grown-up ones and two other young ones. "Number 6."

David laughed as the little guy shook his head and huffed. "He doesn't seem very keen on that, he wants to stand out from the others… How about Maximus?"

Cassandra nodded. "That's cool."

The little foal whinnied as he nodded and jumped a little bit in excitement, he couldn't wait to get started and liked the sound of "Maximus" much more than "White Horse Number 6."

"Maximus it is, someday soon you'll be a big and strong stallion," David said as he stroked little Max's neck, he glanced at Cassandra and noticed she was a bit apprehensive about petting him. "It's ok, he doesn't bite."

Cassandra had taken a deep breath and reached out to Max's forehead, his fur was short but soft, she looked at him in awe like she did with the stallion she had rode on with her dad. She had never gotten that close to horses before then, she was fascinated with them, they looked like such majestic creatures. Max appeared to be happy with his new human friend as he allowed her to stroke his muzzle and cheeks.

David smiled down at his little girl as she became more confident in handling the foal and seen her smile and heard her giggle which was sadly quite rare for her yet it was a simple everyday thing with other kids her age.

This lead on to memories of when she was a bit older, fifteen and he had taught her how to ride a horse.

"Okay, hold the reins tight as it does get quite bumpy, give the horse a careful nudge to tell him where to go and to stop," he said once they had mounted on their horses.

"Got it!" Cassandra said as she put both hands on the reins and was ready as she ever would be for her first horse ride.

"Ok, let's go!" David said then given his horse the signal to go with the tap of the reins, Cassandra copied and then they were off, they had done a lap around the field, he glanced over at her to see how she was doing and the sight of a smile warmed his heart. He was glad she had picked up on it so well and was genuinely enjoying it, he chuckled under his breath as he put his attention back onto the path ahead of them. He was very happy to see her come out of her shell and have the chance to enjoy some activity together when the opportunity was available, he was helping a couple of the guards learn the skill of horse riding and thought it would be a good idea to have her tag along.

"AHH!"

Cassandra, as instructed given her horse the sign to stop at the same time he did and turned around and had seen Pete on the ground in pain, she had instantly jumped down from her horse and rushed over to him and Stan.

"What happened?" David asked as he followed after her.

"The horse got spooked by a bird Sir, he reared and Pete had fallen off," Stan replied.

"Hold on Peter, you're going to be ok," Cassandra said as she had taken off her cape, folded it up and placed it under his head, he appeared to be losing consciousness, he had scrapes on his elbow to and she suspected the fall would have done some damage to his back to. "I'll get help, one of you stay with him until they get here!"

He nodded as she ran back to the castle, people acted like she was some heartless, unfeeling monster but that was not true, although she was not as overly affectionate as Rapunzel she was capable of showing kindness to others.

His sweet dreams though soon turned to dark nightmares like the wish he had tried to make in Terapi Island. He heard the voices of the people that heckled her when she first came home with him and then she was in the throne room, it was her trial and it had not gone well.

"Cassandra, when you first returned here you asked for Rapunzel's forgiveness, you have betrayed the position of trust you were in being a Lady-In-Waiting and a guard, you have set out to deliberately harm my daughter The Royal Princess Rapunzel, abetted with the demon Zhan Tiri and endangered the people of Corona. As a result, some had lost their lives from the Hurt spell that demon had used," Frederic said as he stared down at her from his throne. "Even now survivors are suffering emotionally because of the pain the pair of you had inflicted onto them."

"I know, I have hurt many people, Your Highness… What I had done was unacceptable and inexcusable, I sincerely apologise for all the hurt and damage I caused, I cannot expect you to forget about everything I did but I ask for your forgiveness," Cassandra pleaded.

"Father please listen to her!" Rapunzel cried.

"Silence!" Frederic shouted as he held a hand up to his daughter and shot an angry glare. "I know you only started feeling guilty when the power you had stolen was taken away, I don't believe you can be trusted after the way you have behaved. I do not wish to inflict you onto another land where you could find something else similar to the moonstone and you have committed one of the most serious offences of all, high treason and attempted murder of Princess Rapunzel... You're sentenced to death by hanging."

"No!" Rapunzel cried, she tried to run to Cassandra but John and Rob grabbed her from behind.

"Guards, take the Princess to her room," Frederic ordered and instantly the men had taken hold of her arms the sound of her cries as she was escorted out pained him, the poor girl devastated, the efforts she had put in to revive her friend were in vain as she was about to meet an even more grim demise.

He already felt his heartbreak as Stan and Pete took hold of his little girl and taken her down to that place where she would never be seen again. He heard the voices of all the other people who had come to see the trial and had put their two pennies in as they often did.

"Dangerous… Disgraceful…"

"The evil is as clear as that stone was in her chest."

"Dangerous."

"Outrageous!"

"Disgraceful, shameful!"

"She has been trouble since the night that she came." He heard Frederic's low voice.

"She is only sorry she got caught."

"Dangerous, outrageous!"

"Disgraceful, shameful!"

"You know those two-faced type of people."

"The evil is as clear as that stone was in her chest."

"Good riddance to that traitor!"

"Take her away."

"Dangerous, outrageous!"

"Disgraceful, shameful!"

"Go to Hell traitor!"

"She has been trouble since the night that she came."

"Good riddance to that traitor!"

"Born in bitterness, raised in rage, now its time for her to face her fate, we cannot let her run, we cannot let her live, a message to all that we do not forget the things we cannot forgive and she is not one of us. She never will be one of us. She is not one of us, she does not belong with us, we have been lied to before now we are no longer so blind, we all know what she has done, she will never be one of us."

"She is not one of us."

"Dangerous."

"Disgraceful."

"Dangerous…"

Just the mental image of her being "put down" snapped him awake, he bolted up and panted frantically. It was so real and the fact that it was a possibility terrified him. It was not the first time he had pictured such a scene, the reason why he had tried so hard to find her before she returned to Corona and do something she would later regret. He reminded himself of the breathing exercise that Xavier had taught him and used it to calm himself down, within a few minutes his breathing was better. He looked down at the wooden figure of him and the painting of the two of them as tears streamed down his face. The thought that he may never see the face of his only daughter again made it so hard not to, as he clutched the piece and pulled it closer a tear had dropped close to her face. If only tears could bring her back to him.

He facepalmed as more tears flowed, he had tried so hard to save her from that fate but he failed... He failed to stop her, she had easily defeated him, he should have been more careful with his approach, maybe if he had not been so confrontational then they wouldn't have gotten into a fight. He felt like such an idiot, all he wanted was to give her a good life but was unable to keep her on the straight and narrow.

He had gone wrong somewhere while he was raising her, he thought maybe he was not as good as a father as he thought, perhaps she would have been better off in the orphanage, even if it was overcrowded. She was a nice, pretty girl so surely someone would take her in, someone who knew how to raise children, he thought was she right when she said he was only doing what was best for himself? Did he just take her in to fill some kind of void in his heart as he had gone on for a long time without any family around? Was life around Royalty the best thing for a small child who had just been abandoned? Would she have been better off growing up with a small family in a home? All these what-ifs and would haves had driven him deeper into despair as just like Cass had thought he blamed himself for it all. He thought he must have looked like one of the worst fathers in Corona and there were some very bad ones around, he thought maybe George was right he was weak and pathetic. He groaned as he heard a knock at the door, this time he did not move from his seat, he did not want anyone to see him in such a sorry state or even talk to anyone.

Xavier sighed as he waited several minutes for a response but when he did not get an answer he had taken it as a hint that he wanted to be alone and respected his wishes, he only hoped he was not too badly hurt or sick. He supposed he could try again later when he is calmer, he knew he would not be able to solve his problem but at the very least he could show that he did not have to face it alone.

* * *

**04:00 PM**

_King Frederic’s Main Study Room_

"Yes, that would be wise Sir... We need to settle this matter once and for all," Nigel said as he closed his large book on Coronan Law and gathered his many papers on Cassandra's case.

"Thank you, Nigel, I shall grant... Cassandra a trial," Frederic said. "It shall be in five weeks, for her sake she better behave herself in the meantime."

Nigel bowed and just as he was about to exit Eugene charged into the room, he looked like he was about to explode as his face was flushed, almost as red as his jacket, he was also sweaty and panted as he had just ran up the many stairs from the dungeons to there.

"Hey, Your Majesty, we need to talk, right now!"

Frederic groaned in frustration and looked at his new Captain and Son-In-Law with a thunderous look on his face like when he had lashed out at the Griffin. "What is the meaning of this Captain? Do you not know you need to knock before you enter the study uninvited?"

"Oh, right that must have slipped my mind, just like it must have slipped yours when you ordered the guards to force-feed Cassandra without consulting me first!" Eugene shouted. "Yes, she has had difficulty eating but she has started to improve gradually while she has not completed the meals she had at least most of it like I told her to!"

"Captain... Please calm down, do not start a fight!" Nigel exclaimed as he put himself between the two of them to prevent their heated argument to turn into a rough fight.

"How do you know this Captain? You're not the one giving out the meals," Frederic asked. "A guard had come to me after my interviews telling me that she had not been eating her meals."

"Stan informs me how she is doing, I have also visited her myself last week, she has only been skipping meals because she is highly stressed! That's what some people do when they are so upset as they can't even bring themselves to eat anything!" Eugene said.

"Right now many people are much more highly stressed, coming to terms with recent events, personal trauma from the attacks, I have also heard one of the guards is struggling with this and it has been impacting on his ability to carry out his duties," Frederic said. "Peter, I believe his name is, he has a similar background to that woman and has never stepped out of line or broken a law so I refuse to give her any sympathy."

Eugene had taken a deep breath and then gently let it out like Xavier had taught David, it was something that perhaps the King would do well to learn.

"You're Highness, it is no good comparing her experiences with others, they are completely different stories. You do not know the full story, only part of it... I have talked to Rapunzel about what exactly happened when they were alone together, I can tell you if you're willing to listen… Speaking of which I can't help but notice one huge plot hole! Who was the guard that reported Cassandra to you?"

"The guard wishes to be kept anonymous... They do not want to get any hassle from you or Rapunzel," King Frederic said.

"How the heck are we going to sort this out if someone is hiding away? We need to be honest with each other or we just won't get anywhere! I know Cassandra has been horrible to Rapunzel but we had just sorted that! I am also aware that she has been skipping meals but putting her with a bunch of men she does not know to pin her down and force-feed her is going too far! It's just downright cruel, why did you keep that torture up? Was that your old man's idea?" Eugene ranted.

"Leave my father out of this Captain, the previous one may have recommended you for the position but I am not obliged to keep you in it, I could easily replace you with a man more qualified than you!" Frederic yelled. "Before his early retirement, I had considered making him redundant... He was too close to the case as he had seen her as though she was his daughter."

Eugene's face fell as his rage faded, he had not thought about that, he shivered at the thought of who his replacement would be, perhaps George? If he had become Captain things would get much worse for Cassandra and his co-workers. He then thought of the warning the former Captain had given him earlier, how he had to stay on his good side and play his cards right.

_"You must watch your tongue in a Monarch's presence or you will live to regret it."_

Eugene had breathed a heavy sigh and bowed his head to Frederic.

"Ok, I apologise for my outburst... I just think these methods are rather extreme. I would have appreciated if you had taken the time to discuss the matter with me beforehand."

"The problem is Captain, is like Rapunzel and David, you have a personal connection to Cassandra... You think she had just turned good because she came over onto our side, she still needs to be held accountable and punished and no, community service does not cut it, the locals have also voiced their dislike for her and said they do not want her help," Frederic said.

"Then what about the people in Old Corona? They need all the help they can get, it's a wreck over there!" Eugene exclaimed. "Just what kind of thing do you exactly have in mind for her Sir?"

"I am taking the time to find a suitable punishment for her, not going to rush into the easiest option for her, she has hurt many people, Captain. Those outside the castle grounds, unfortunately, did not get healed by Rapunzel, some of which have even died from the decaying spell," Frederic said. "If it had not been for her that demon would have never been raised and we would not have been in this mess," Frederic said.

"It was not just Cassandra that brought back Zhan Tiri, there was a whole series of events that lead up to it... You can't blame all of this on Cassandra, that's not fair," Eugene said.

Frederic sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Life is not fair Captain, never has been and never will be... Cassandra may not be solely responsible for Zhan Tiri's return but she is guilty of many crimes, that is no one's fault but her own."

Eugene groaned he was not getting anywhere with him, he tried to think of a way to explain that he would understand but words failed him. It was strange that did not normally happen.

"Please stop with these extreme punishments, I have Stan taking care of her, I think just one man who she knows and trusts even just a little is enough to help her through this dietary issue."

"This does not only happen to her, you seriously expect one of the men to baby her? She is not innocent Captain, we cannot give her any special treatment," Frederic said.

"I'm not saying that I just want to give her the assistance in a more humane way if this carries on she will not be in the right mindset to stand trial!" Eugene exclaimed.

"You are dismissed Captain," Frederic said.

"What?"

"I said... You are dismissed! Do not interrupt my meetings in the future, if I require your assistance I will call for you!" Frederic yelled.

Eugene huffed as he turned his heel and stormed out of the room like Rapunzel he roughly slammed the door which made the nervous Nigel jump in fright, he could not believe the nerve of the new Captain, the previous one would not have even dared to argue with His Highness as it would have not ended well for him.

* * *

**  
04:20 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra had never felt so humiliated in her life, she could not even bring herself to look at any of the men as they dragged her back to her cell after they had pinned her down and shoved that sludge down her throat, she guessed that was how it was going to be from then on.

"You will do well to follow our instructions next time if you wish to get through this in one piece," George hissed.

Unlike last time Cass did not respond, she did not even look at him just kept her eyes on the floor, she knew he was talking rubbish she was doing what she was told, it was the person who was spreading lies about her that was the problem she knew whether she did behave or not it would not make a difference, the King was not going to go easy on her, he had already regretted letting her get away in the first place. His heart had gone cold, he was much more than angry, he was furious and it did not seem like he would calm down any time soon, only when she was gone one way or another he would relax. He made it very clear she wanted her out of Rapunzel's life for good for which she could not blame him, after everything she had done and he is bound to have heard that Zhan Tiri had told her to destroy Rapunzel to gain the full power of the moonstone. Usually destroy meant kill so she could see why she was accused of attempted murder, that did not look good especially with the number of incidents she had put the Princess in danger on purpose.

A few minutes later they had arrived at her cell, Joseph unlocked it and held the door for George and Dan as one unlocked her cuffs, the other pushed her in so she had fallen onto the floor, she breathed a deep sigh as the door was slammed and locked up again. She didn't get up, she didn't have the strength everything had hurt, some of those guys were stronger than they looked, she had struggled out of sheer panic and they fought back.

Shortly after they left Stan had returned for his second round of spot-checking the dungeon, he was saddened to see Cassandra curled up like a baby on the floor, he then noticed bruises on her arm and cheek which worried him. He entered the cell, knelt beside her and put a hand on her shoulder before he had the chance to speak she swatted his hand away.

"No! Don't touch me!" She shouted she thought he was George. "Stop! I can't take it anymore!"

"Cass, it's alright… It's me, Stan, I'm not trying to hurt you, just checking how you are after the guys… Had taken you out."

Cassandra had frozen and looked up, she was partly relieved but still distressed by the ordeal she had just been through, she felt like a wild animal in a cage like those lions and tigers seen in circuses people looked at her as though she was a beast. When those creatures "misbehaved" they got beaten, locked up or sometimes disposed of, she had been on display for all to see and it would soon happen again. She grimaced as she brought herself up as her wrists flared in pain, along with her hips and back.

"As you can see I am not okay, Fitzherbert said he wouldn't let anyone hurt me… He couldn't even stop those guys from doing… That."

Stan sighed again as he glanced down at the floor, things were getting worse.

"He didn't get the chance, His Highness did not consult him before he had given George the order, he did not see you get taken either as he was in the storage room dealing with another guard… He is aware now and is going to try and make it stop."

Cassandra groaned as she leaned her arms on her knees and her back against the right bed, she did not see that working, she had a bad feeling in her gut that he would not be able to live up to that big of a promise even though he meant well.

"I have seen your dad earlier today... Told him you are struggling... He is to... He misses you a lot, I wish you could see each other but His Highness has banned visitors for security reasons," Stan said and made air quotation marks around the last two words. He knew he just brought that in to force them apart, there was never any need to before, visitors were very rare anyway.

"Hmm," Cassandra mumbled as bowed her head, one of her biggest worries were what would happen to him if it did come to the worst-case scenario who would be there to help him through his bereavement? He had no other family, he was no social butterfly so did not have any real friends either. She was not sure if Stan and Pete counted, they always seemed to have been just workers. The neighbours refused to give him any goodwill since he had brought her back home, even Uncle Monty had fallen out with him over it. He would be all alone in his home, she imagined he would have felt like a total failure both as a father and as a Captain, she wished she could have seen him again, give him another hug and tell him how much she loved him.

"Things will work out, Fitzherbert and I will try our best to fix this mess," Stan said as he looked at her with a warm, kind expression on his face.

Cassandra had shaken her head, she could not believe that.

"How? He does not have a lot of power even as Captain of The Royal Gaurd and you have even less as a regular one, neither of you stands a chance, what the King says goes!"

"I may not have any power but I have a voice, the Captain just has a louder voice than mine and the Princess, the more of us who use our voices the more seriously we will be taken!" Stan said. "We can't go on being silent, this is going too far! I'm done being a dog, time I start being a man!"

Cassandra was shocked, he had always been so obedient, she never would have imagined he would feel the need to rebel. She glanced over at him and seen a usual furious look on his face and his hands clenched in tight fists both him and Pete had been acting really strange lately, she sighed as she could not see it panning out well if Stan was going to actually confront the King.

"Stanley, what have I told you about being friendly with the prisoners?"

They both looked through the door and had seen George on the other side with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face as he glared at Stan.

"Who died and made you Captain? You're sick you know that? You shouldn't even be on the guard, you made Pete, my best mate get into a worse state than he already was filling his head with all sorts of rubbish. He is at risk of losing his job now because of you! Now you have gone overboard with Cass… You told Frederic she has been starving herself which was a lie!" Stan shouted as he stood himself up. "Wait a minute… It was you that reported her to His Highness about her assaulting a Royal Gaurd on the night of the battle, wasn't it? You were on duty at the time they went home so you were likely the last one they would have seen!"

"Oh butt out Stanley, if he gets fired that's his own stupid fault, he won't be a big loss, he never does anything useful and regardless of that she still has to face His Highness whether they like it or not!" George shouted. "Now get out of here or I'll drag you out!"

"I would like to see you try, what has he ordered you to do this time?" Stan asked as he crossed his arms, he was not going to let him out of his sight, he only trusted him as far as he could throw him and that was not very far. "If the Captain finds out it was you he would kick you off the squad, you can't go lying to His Highness! That's betraying his trust in us!"

"Oh, shut up and leave me to do this job properly, you are just as bad as him, letting you two idiots in the guard was a mistake, you're too soft and he's just a coward. Battles are not meant to be a pleasant experience and even the last two he was in was not that bad," George said as he entered the cell. "You would think he had fought the Saporians the way he goes on."

"No way I'm leaving you with Cassandra, you may have gotten away with all this stuff when the last Captain was here but no way you will with the new one!" Stan shouted. "You kick people when they are down, the weak and vulnerable, you never did this to the Stabbingtons and they have deliberately killed people! Cain over there, she had kidnapped the King!"

"They are not the ones being difficult if you must know His Highness has ordered me to restrain her to the bed," George said as he brought out a pair of cuffs.

"What's the point in that? She hasn't left her bed until you had taken her out! What did you say? Did you tell him that she attacked you again? Stop lying to the King… Better still stop lying to everyone!" Stan shouted.

George ignored him as he grabbed one of Cassandra's wrists and attached half of the cuff to it and was about to put the other on one of the chains that held the bed to the wall. Cassandra panicked again and lashed out at him, she pushed him to the other side of the cell.

"Cassandra, I know it's tempting, sometimes I feel like punching him in the face but doing so will only make things worse… Don't give him a real excuse to hurt you more," Stan whispered as he put a hand on her shoulder. He wished he could have tossed the cuffs away and send him out, there was nothing he could do to stop him as much as it pained him to see, he could at least show her some moral support. Remind her that the world was not completely against her, she was not alone. There was another storm coming up, it was going to be a tough one but both Cassandra and her father would get through it all.


	8. The Wish To Turn Back Time

**Wednesday07:00 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra was absolutely exhausted but did not sleep smoothly, she panted and trembled in bed as for the first time in years she had a nightmare, one that was scarier than any other that she experienced all those years ago. 

“Cass! Cass!” Rapunzel’s voice screamed as she clung onto the cliff face for dear life, her powers had faded, she still had the incredibly long hair but the sunny glow was gone. She had no idea where they were or how she even got into that situation but Cassandra rushed towards her. “Help me!”

“Rapunzel!” She had frozen, she wracked her brain to figure out what to do, she got down on the ground and reached out a hand to her, she groaned as she stretched as hard as she could. A chill ran down her spine as there was a sudden sound of evil laughter from behind her, she looked over her shoulder and seen Zhan Tiri shadowed as she loomed over her. She gasped in shock but quickly snapped herself out of it and went back to Rapunzel, she was close but not enough to grab her, she felt her pulse skyrocket in horror as the Princess slipped further down. “No…Raps… Just a little further.” 

Rapunzel looked back at her in fear as she tried to reach up to her, she was so close to rescuing her just as she had promised she would do if she had come to any harm.

“Gotcha!” A voice growled. 

Cassandra yelped in fright as the demon’s claws snatched her other arm, she looked back and seen Zhan Tiri in her true form, the black ram and squid monster that they had just defeated. 

“Trust me!” Zhan Tiri hissed as she stared down at her with that wicked grin on her face, Cassandra turned back to Rapunzel, she tried her best to keep calm even though she was put between the Princess that she had sworn to protect and that evil demon. 

“Cassandra!” Rapunzel screamed as she lost her grip and slipped further down the cliff. 

“No!” Cassandra screamed as Rapunzel had fallen off the cliff and was close to dropping to the dusty ground where there was somehow a stampede of horses. This was the strangest and most frightening nightmare she ever had and she had quite a few of them. 

“Zhan Tiri!” She growled as her sadness quickly turned to anger as she faced the ancient demon again who continued to laugh at her, the shadows had somehow lifted and another person had taken her place. It was one of the Royal Guards… It was George and he was also laughing then Pete appeared beside him.

“Pete! Help me please!”

He kept silent as he stood with his arms crossed and shrugged as he stared down at her with an uncaring, cold expression, just like she did on the day she had taken the moonstone. 

“I tried to warn you, Cassandra… You have to be careful who you trust.”

Cassandra gasped but she didn’t have a chance to speak as George roughly pushed her from the top of the cliff, her punishment for failing to protect the Princess. 

“No!” She screamed as she was about to crash land onto the ground just like she did although this part was not just in the nightmare, all of her fellow prisoners were snapped awake by her screaming.

“Cassandra?” 

Cass was still in panic mode, her legs had shaken franticly and her arms waved, the cuff clinked and clanged against the chain it was attached to. She tried to shuffle away from that voice that caused vibrations in her back, her brain reeled as strong hands grabbed her shoulder, she thought she was going to be dragged away again. If it were not there she would have fallen onto the filthy, cold, hard floor. Cassandra kicked and elbowed the man behind her with her free arm but she was so confused she missed and appeared to be lashing out aimlessly. 

“Cassandra, it’s okay, calm down.” 

Cassandra had instantly frozen as she recognised that man’s voice as Eugene, she had then shaken terribly as her breathing had speeded up rapidly, her grey eyes darted back and forth as she adapted to the faint light of the lamp which Stan held as he stood beside Eugene. She could not make out a lot of his face but he seemed worried, both of them did. She couldn’t help but wonder what were they doing here? How did they get here so quickly? Where were Pete and George? Was Rapunzel okay? Where was Rapunzel? 

Cassandra had let out a few shaky breathes as she realised all of that stuff was not real, it was a nightmare, a figment of her imagination she did not realise she had so much of. 

“Cass,” Eugene said in a hushed tone so not to shock her as he had seen the frightened look in her unfocused eyes and carefully shaken her shoulders to take her out of her confused, buzzing thoughts. “Cass, look at me, what’s wrong? What happened?” 

Cassandra blinked at him as she struggled to think of how to respond, the feeling of terror from only mere seconds gradually faded away from her chest and lungs as the adrenaline went down, she still felt scared but also exhausted. 

“I-I don’t know,” she just about managed to whisper as she had shaken her head a little in shock of it all, it looked so real she had for a moment thought it was. “W-What’s going on?” She asked with an unusual stammer in her voice. “Why are you…Why are you here?”

“I heard you screaming and thrashing about, I got the Captain as I was unsure about what to do to help you,” Stan replied. “I was afraid you would get hurt, for a moment I thought one of the guys had started beating you again.” 

Cassandra swallowed as she stared at Stan and Eugene then glanced down at the handcuffs that made her stuck to the bed which frustrated her greatly. 

“Hey,” Eugene said as he made another attempt to prompt her, he had figured her panic attack had been due to a nightmare like what he had seen happen to her dad.

“Do you… Want to talk about it?”

Cassandra shook her head, she did not want to discuss her nightmare with them, it was too painful to speak about. ”N-no… I don’t… I think I’ll be ok now.”

“Are you sure?” Stan asked as he attempted to make eye contact with her but she had gone back into her little shell. 

“Y-Yeah, it’s nothing... Really,” Cassandra replied. 

Eugene’s brow furrowed as he had grown more concerned about Cassandra’s emotional state, even though she sounded calmer her shoulder still trembled with fear under his grip. He glanced at Stan and he had the same kind of expression, he had been there when she was brought back after their “assistance.”

“I-Is R-Raps… Okay?” Cassandra asked. 

Both Eugene and Stan were puzzled by the random question, they couldn’t see what the Princess had to do with anything that had just happened, then it dawned on them that she was possibly in the nightmare. 

Eugene sighed as he held his friend’s hand, even though it was clammy and likely dirty. “Rapunzel is just fine… Comfy in bed with her frog buddy beside her but she is worried about you though, I’m going to bring her down tomorrow to see you, although I’m not supposed to but if we’re careful we may be able to pull it off without Papa Bear finding out.” 

Cassandra stared into space as she tried to take it all in, she could not believe it, the whole thing looked so real but it still did not make any sense. What were they doing on a cliff? How did she fall off the top? What the hell were Zhan Tiri, George and Pete doing there? Why didn’t the guards help her save the Princess? Why did he just let George throw her off? Was it a sign that they were going to kill her? Take her far away where no one would ever find her? Were they planning to do that? 

“She’s safe now, there isn’t going to be any more monsters or demons to attack either of you,” Stan said as he gently rubbed her shoulder. “They would not dare, us Coronans have a special way of dealing with those things.” 

“I don’t understand… It made no sense at all, is it normal for dreams to be like that?” Cassandra asked. 

“Depends, I’ve had a few very strange dreams myself… It had taken quite some time before I was finally able to sleep without seeing…. That person who stabbed me when I saved Rapunzel,” Eugene said. “It’s okay Cass… Nightmares can be very scary, there were times I suddenly woke up panting like I had just been running a marathon and terrified even though nothing had happened… It just looked so real, you trick yourself into thinking you are back there.” 

“This wasn’t something that happened though… It was really weird,” Cassandra replied and breathed out a heavy sigh, she still felt terrified even though she knew she was somewhat safe with Eugene and Stan by her side. She knew they could only help her to an extent as hard as they tried to comfort her they were not in the position to save her should she come to any harm. 

“Was it about the fight you two had with Zhan Tiri? That was very scary,” Stan asked. 

Cassandra nodded, it was in part, she did not want to go into details of how George and Pete killed her by throwing her off a cliff but thought that would be enough to give them a rough idea on what she had been thinking. She remained silent as she turned onto her other side and tried to calm herself down, she eyed the cuff that kept her stuck to the bed and thought of the man who had put her in it. 

“We’re not going to kill you… Not yet anyway.” She heard his low voice in her head and for a second had a flashback of the time he entered her cell earlier that day, a tear slid across her cheek as she figured he was going to be the one who would destroy her. Even though he had no magical abilities he scared her even more than Zhan Tiri ever did. 

“Ok,” Eugene whispered as he had taken the hint that she wished to be left alone and brought himself back up from where he had knelt on her bedside. “We’ll leave you be for the time being… If you need any help call for Stan or me, okay?” 

Cassandra paused for a moment then nodded again, Eugene was reluctant to leave her in such a state, he thought it would be good to try and talk things out with her but since that did not work he was unsure of what else to do. He had experience with comforting young children back at the orphanage, some of whom had very traumatic experiences, he used to tell them that everything was going to be okay, they were safe and things will get better. He also used to cheer them up with reading them The Tales Of Flynn Rider so for an hour they were able to escape from the old orphanage and experience a world of wonder and adventure with a swashbuckling explorer and thief. While he did have a caring and warm big brother like side, he struggled to think of an effective way to console a traumatised young woman. He knew just the thing to bring a smile onto a six-year-old’s face when they had broken down in tears for whatever reason but it appeared neither he or Stan had a clue on how to help when someone where the problem was invisible. He breathed another sigh through his nose as he signalled to Stan that it was time they left and turned in for the night. 

Stan had taken one last glance at Cassandra, she seemed to have drifted back to sleep like Eugene he was sympathetic as he also had nightmares about the final battle, the moment Zhan Tiri had casted the Decay Incantation. He was forced to watch helplessly as everyone around him dropped dead, despite being big and strong he was powerless against the giant demon, that scene was often followed by the moment his closest friend slowly died in his arms in agony. He understood why she did not want to speak of it, he did not either not even to his wife as she tried her best to comfort him when he suddenly screamed and cried while they slept. It was hard enough just thinking about it, to put it into words was too much of a challenge although he tried not to show it, he felt very hurt when George invalidated the anxiety that he felt. Yes, it was different to the battles with the Separatists of Saporia but that did not mean he should not feel afraid by what he had just experienced, unlike him and David he was not very experienced in battle, he felt way out of his depth in both the one in Old Corona and the castle grounds. 

“You okay Stan?” 

He paused at the sound of his new captain’s voice and he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder which seemed very odd coming from someone of authority, the former Captain had never done such a thing. “Yeah… Just got lost in thought I guess, a lot of crazy stuff has happened this year.”

Eugene nodded, he was right about that, he hoped that they would get through the next year in peace though that seemed very unlikely, it never stayed quiet in Corona for long there was always something. The sunshine kingdom was well known for its drama, he was sure that as soon as they ring in the new year another mystery would appear unexpectedly which he and Rapunzel would dive straight into. First, he needed to crack the case on which one of his men had set Cassandra up to failure, the next morning he planned to visit the former Captain for advice on how to deal with a King who had a frozen heart and was incredibly stubborn. 

David had not even gotten in bed, he stayed on the table and looked through all the paintings and drawings she had done from when she was four to ten, there was the very last one she had done. It was from a back view, they were on a hill hand in hand with a sun its usual corner. “Before she walked away, what if I asked her to stay? What was I thinking? Concealing only fed the confusion she was feeling,” he sang quietly to himself which was unusual but these were strange, scary times they were living in. “I had my chance and I blew it, all the things I should have done, now there’s no bright sides, just shadows of a life we could have led.”

He got himself up and like he did earlier watched the downpour of the rain and touched the cold, hard glass as he looked on at the spot she was taken away. “If only I could turn back time, she would still be here with me not just on my mind, now she never will.” 

Cassandra didn’t stay asleep for long, soon as they left she sat back up and stared at the door, longing to get out, return home to the man she loved more than anything else in the world. There had not been a day that went by where she did not worry about him or felt guilty for the way she had turned on him. 

“What if I had given him a chance? If I didn’t leave them alone? Maybe things could have been better but it’s too late now,” she sang.

“If only I turn back time,” David sang. 

“If I could go back to that day, I would,” Cassandra sang.

“We were so close to making a new start, now all the hope I had is gone,” they both sang even though they were apart. 

“I wish I go back to those days but it’s too late, it’s already gone forever,” David sang as he looked up at the full moon that loomed over them in the sun’s place. 

Cassandra looked up at the small window where a beam of light shined down on the middle of the room, she glanced at the cuff on her left wrist. “If only I could turn back time.” 

* * *

**10:00 PM**

_Captain’s Office_

Eugene flopped on his desk and held his head in his hands, despite seeing Stan off he couldn’t bring himself to sleep either, he was too stressed to even think about lying down. He wracked his brain for a way out of this, it seemed like a good idea to visit the former Captain for help but then began to have doubts as he was not in a good state of mind from what he had heard and he did not want to make him worse. He was frustrated with the stubbornness of his Father-In-Law who refused to give any mercy to the young woman who he cared so much for, someone he had thought of as being like his sister. Not trusting him enough to steer her in the right direction, ignored any suggestion of giving her any support, it looked like he would not stop until she felt the same pain and agony he thought she had put Rapunzel through. He got distracted from his thoughts when he heard a knock at the door, he bolted up as he expected it to be one of his men but instead it was Rapunzel. 

“Eugene, it’s getting very late, you should go to bed… Got a busy day tomorrow, Varian needs to show you his flood defences,” Rapunzel said as she entered the office and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “The former captain made himself ill by pushing himself too hard, be careful you don’t make that mistake, you have been through a lot lately.” 

Eugene nodded, she was right as she often was, he had been overwhelmed with the issues he’s had to face since he had become Captain of The Royal Gaurd, raise in crime so much so the dungeon was almost overcrowded. Some of the men not taking him seriously as their new leader, the trouble with Pete, the problems with Cassandra and his toughened, cold-hearted Father-In-Law. Rapunzel was the one who kept him going, made all the pain worthwhile, she was someone he could always count on and there were not many of those people around. “You’re right Sunshine… It’s just I can’t seem to stop worrying about Cass, she had an episode just now as she had a nightmare, I think it was about the time you fought Zhan Tiri… Her dad is sick, I don’t know what it is but it’s looking bad, he doesn’t have anyone to go to for help.” 

Rapunzel sighed, she felt awful for both her best friend and her father, she wished she could have done something sooner, somehow had stopped it before it had gone as far as it had, she struggled to think of a way to fix this mess so everyone got their happy ending. 

“I just… Don’t know what to do, your dad won’t listen to me and even Pete had turned against me! Him of all people!” Eugene exclaimed. “They say it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.” 

“Since when has Pete been quiet? Remember the treasure hunt?” Rapunzel asked as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “He has changed a lot since the battle, everyone has, Stan and Pete are no longer so silly, Stan’s more serious and Pete has become meaner… My dad is to, that’s what’s been worrying me.” 

Eugene breathed out a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Yeah, it seems like something inside of them had snapped on that day, Cassandra is not herself either… She is miserable and scared, that is something I never thought I would see her with, she’s always been so tough and strong like her dad.” 

Rapunzel nodded, she had heard from Stan whenever he had the opportunity to answer her questions on how Cassandra was coping in the dungeon. He was the only guard who was willing to talk to her about it, others just shrugged or refused to tell her anything, she guessed they were under orders from her father not to speak of it to her. She thought Stan was brave to go against those rules to get her friend the help she needed, although he may not be great in a fight or against dangerous animals he was someone they could trust and that meant a lot. 

“I think we should see her dad tomorrow, let him know what is happening, he must be worried sick right now.”

Eugene sighed again as he leaned against his chair. “I don’t know Rapunzel, he has not been very well lately… Emotionally, I mean, worse than he was on Terapi Island, I’ve heard he has completely shut everyone else out the only person he had talked to was Stan.”

Rapunzel nodded she remembered how upset he was after the fight with Cassandra, he was lost not knowing where to turn and acted on impulse. She could only imagine the pain he felt when he had seen her disappear after removing the coin from the wishing fountain even though it needed to be done, the confusion as he, like most people, had no understanding of magic. Just like a mixed bag of emotions from the day she left and he had only just started on the path towards his recovery, it pained her to think of how much he had broken down. She did not feel comfortable leaving him in such a state, she feared it would only get worse if they did, the occasional visit from Stan was not enough, he needed serious help. “He’s hurting Eugene, he’s scared of losing his daughter and is ill, he knows us… He trusts us, we should go and at least check up on him at least at his home we can talk in private so no one else can come and say things to upset him more.” 

“Yeah, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try, I never thought he would ever trust me that much… Still can’t believe he had recommended me, me of all people!” Eugene exclaimed then breathed a heavy sigh. “I don’t want to let him down.” 

Rapunzel put on a small smile and given him a little hug around the shoulders. “He knows you won’t, you haven’t let anyone down… You made our guards the best they can be even though some are being difficult at the moment, you are trying hard to get Cassandra through this, you even dared to try and stand up to my father! The King! No one else would ever do that!” 

Eugene nodded as he stroked her haphazard pixie crop which he supposed would soon be fixed by one of her ladies in waiting, they sure did have their work cut out with her in that department. “Thanks, Sunshine, you always knew how to make me feel better.”

“No problem, I’m always going to be there for you Eugene, soon everyone will see you for the hero you are,” Rapunzel said as she also stroked his hair. 

* * *

**Thursday 09:00 AM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra glanced over her shoulder and seen George, Dan, as they entered her space while John, Joseph and Robert waited nearby.

“Alright madam, time to get some food down you again, behave yourself this time!” George growled as he knelt beside her and unlocked the cuff that stuck her to the bed and moved it onto her other wrist. Dan grabbed her other arm and just like before dragged her away. 

“Wow, you guys think you’re so hard... Kicking a person when they are down, degrading a young woman who had just past her teen years by putting her through that torture and you call me a low life scumbag!” Lady Cain shouted out. 

“Shut up or you’ll be next!” George shouted. 

Lady Cain growled as she glared daggers at him, he was the worst of the lot, before she came along he used to pick on her. She had thrown a couple of punches at him but he never chained her up. He had threatened to kill her just like he had done to her father if she had tried to escape, although it wasn’t likely it wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. She guessed that’s why His Highness had given the order for it “just in case” she did try to breakout herself or someone else did hence the sudden ban on visitors. She did not know what the former Lady In Waiting had done to land her in prison in the first place but she felt a bit sorry for her, she had fallen for the fluffiness of the happy Royal family. She did not have any sympathy for the former Captain though, after all, he was the one who had taken her dad away from her and likely was the one who killed him. 

“Here comes the carriage,” Dan teased as though he was feeding a toddler rather than an adult. He had drawn the short stick of being the one to feed her while the others held her down. For the kid’s sake she hoped he was not a father or ever would be one, he would be just as bad as her mother was with his twisted, sadistic humour. 

“Stop that, it’s not funny!” Cassandra cried as she tried to avoid the metallic spoon that was filled with the junk that pained her stomach when she did as much as look at it. “I’m serious, I feel sick… You might want to back away before I vomit on your uniform.” 

“Nice try Missy, you can’t fool me, now take the damn soup,” Dan said with a wicked smirk. 

“I-I’m s-serious, that st-” Cassandra tried again to explain but once again was cut off as Dan saw his chance to stick it in. 

She had frozen up, she was as terrified as she was the first time round, she had never known the guys to act so callously and malicious even when she was there right in front of them. Her skin tone paler than it had ever been, feverish and a little bit tearful, she had tried hard to keep herself from having a breakdown but struggled as she had nothing to take her mind off it. She coughed heavily as Dan removed the spoon for a moment they thought she was choking and then it happened, just like she had warned him, her body rejected the gruel and it accidentally landed on Dan’s golden breastplate. He looked down at the mess in disgust and glared at her. 

“Seriously? Are you trying to make me sick now?” He growled as he brought himself up. “Joe tell that old maid to send a cleaner down here, Rob, John take her back to her cell while I get myself cleaned up!” 

“What about the lady Dan?” Joesph asked as he loosened his hold on her shoulder, unlike the others he had appeared concerned as her legs had shaken frantically and her hands trembled. “I think she needs to be checked out, this isn’t normal.” 

Dan scoffed as he grabbed the door handle. “Just leave her, she’s a mess anyway.” 

Throughout the whole thing, George stood at the doorway and watched with a blank expression but she knew he was glad she was finally facing such harsh punishment for all the things she had done. They seemed satisfied with their good day’s work of ripping away the little bit of dignity she had and no chance of regaining, just like Cain had said they would. 

She groaned as she knew that there was much more to come, at about half twelve or sometime later she would go through it all over again, she thought she knew everything about being a guard she did not realise the dark side of the job. She supposed that was one of the things her dad had feared when she used to plead for him to let her join, she missed him so much, she wished he was still there so at least she could see him. She had tried to muffle her cries with her lumpy, old pillow she did want not to give that jerk George the satisfaction that they had gotten to her. Unfortunately, it was not enough to hide her whimpers as he stood by her cell with the kind of smug smirk that would have infuriated the old Cassandra. 

* * *

**09:30 AM**

_Corona High Street_

For the first time in a while David had taken himself outside, though he concealed himself under a hood so at least he would be able to get a loaf of bread in peace. He didn’t stand out too much either as some other people also covered their heads to keep dry. The air was quite refreshing and was relieved that no one had shouted out to him or confronted him, he was not in the mood for that. He paused when he saw a familiar younger man in front of him, for a moment he did not completely recognise him as it was rare he had seen him without all the gear, he soon realised just who he was. 

“Pete? Why aren’t you at work?” He asked as he approached him. “You should be in the castle right now.” 

Pete had tensed up as he clenched his fist then shot him a cold, icy glare. “The new Captain dismissed me… I have always worked hard, never broken a law or anything, yet I’m the one that gets punished!” 

David furrowed his brow as he looked at his former colleague, he had known him since he was Cassandra’s age and had never seen him like that, it worried him more than he thought it would. “What happened?” 

Pete groaned as he crossed his arms and stared at the ground. “He was bothering me when I was trying to polish the weapons… He wanted to know why Stan and I had fallen out.” 

“What? You and Stan used to squabble all the time like brothers,” David said then sighed as he shook his head. “Are you sure it’s just about that? You don’t look very well… I mean on the inside.” 

Pete sighed. “Doesn’t matter, no one cares what happens to me… If I had died no one would miss me, probably be glad I’m finally gone, all I do is screw things up.” 

“Hey, hey, what’s brought this on? You’re one of my best men, okay you’re not very big or strong but you are trustworthy. I needed men that I can trust to have my back just as much as extra muscle in a fight,” David said. 

“No, I’m not, you just said that to be nice… Everyone has been saying it, I’m too clumsy, too thick, I had fallen for a kid’s stupid cookie trick!” Pete exclaimed. 

“Cookie trick? What the he-“ 

“Don’t ask,” Pete said as he facepalmed. “This whole thing was a mistake, I’m not cut out to be a guard and I never will be, might as well just quit and do something else.” 

“Hey, listen you should know me by now that I don’t do nice when it comes to that. You were in your mid-twenties when you joined up, Cassandra’s age, you have come a long way… Sure you have your moments when you do get a bit silly but when it matters you crack down and get to it,” David said as he put a hand on his shoulder. “I know it’s been scary and difficult lately but don’t give up.” 

He thought he would have at least taken some comfort from his words but much to his surprise he shrugged him off and looked back at him with the same cold glare as before. “Typical, now you care about how I am when you have so much time on your hands, you never bothered to help me before even when you had seen Daniel and other guys pick on me! I had almost died of course I was scared, I am still terrified that some kind of monster is going to attack us again!” 

David sighed, he didn’t normally get involved in the squabbles between his men, he did not have time or the energy to, he only did so on the rare occasion that it had gotten out of hand which he supposed was the issue between him and Stan whatever that was about. He had taken a deep breath and made another attempt to reason with him. “I’m sorry, I just had a lot going on then… When you go back try talking to Fitzherbert, he could give you some guidance, he is quite good at that.” 

Pete scoffed. “Ah yeah the most wanted thief around half of the world, he’s such a great role model!” 

“Come on, he had stopped all that a long time ago, he had done a lot to help us since he came in even put his own life on the line for the country and the Princess,” David said. 

“A lot of us had, in the last battle, everyone came close to death from whatever that monster did! There’s no point in talking to him about it, he doesn’t care… Just picking and choosing who is to be punished and who is to be released,” Pete muttered. 

David sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “The world isn’t black and white Peter, there is a lot more to it than you think… Yes what Cassandra had done was wrong and inexcusable but-“ 

“Save it, I am sick of hearing about her, it’s bad enough at work! Cass this, Cass that, Cass, Cass, Cass,” Pete groaned as he facepalmed again. 

“Peter! She’s my daughter!” David exclaimed, all sympathy he had for the young man had vanished and was replaced with anger as a red tinge appeared in his cheeks. “I am worried sick about her, Frederic could have her killed off if he wishes!” 

Pete did not respond, just turned and walked away. 

“Don’t turn your back on me now Peter!” 

Peter paused for a moment then shot one last glare at him. “Why not? You had already turned your back on the rest of us then ran off to a faraway land while your little darling caused havoc here… I don’t care about you or Cassandra, you’re nothing to me.” 

David gasped as he was dumbfounded by the change in him, he was not the same Pete he had met during the tryouts and worked with all those years. He never would have imagined that one day he would have dared to talk to him in such a disrespectful manner even when he was no longer Captain. For once he was speechless as he walked away, down to the opposite end of the street. 

“David, are you okay?” 

He jumped a little in shock at the sound of Eugene’s voice, he turned and seen him with Rapunzel and Stan, he did not reply, he was still lost for words that alone was a sign that he was not okay. 

“Did Pete say anything to upset you? He had given me a lot of attitude yesterday hence why I had put him off for a few days to give him the space to calm himself down,” Eugene asked. “I understand he’s been upset by recent events but he’s pushing it at the moment.” 

David sighed as he bowed his head. “Something is seriously wrong with him… I’ve known him since he was your age, he’s never talked to anyone like that before.” 

Eugene breathed a sigh as he had patted his shoulder and looked straight at him. “If he lets me I will help him out with whatever issues he’s going through… Don’t worry, it’s going to be okay.” 

David nodded. “Thank you, Fitzherbert, I don’t want him to fall again.” 

“I’ll try my best… Anyway, we’ve come to talk to you about your daughter, preferably in private,” Eugene said as he eyed the few people who passed by. He had already caught them gossiping about the fight between the two, as expected most agreed with Pete, some said they were glad to have someone willing to stick up for them. 

David breathed a heavy sigh as he thought so much for doing his little bit of grocery shopping in peace, not only he had gotten into a heated argument with Pete, he was to have a sudden meeting with Eugene, Rapunzel and Stan. Hopefully, he would get a chance to next time. 

“Alright, you can come to my house.”

* * *

**10:00 AM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra laid on her bed curled up with her back to everyone else as she often did, tears slid across her face as it felt as though Dan had kicked and punched her in the stomach rather than shove a spoonful of slop inside her. Joseph said he was going to try and get someone to help her, she was not sure she could trust him, unlike Stan who seemed like the only decent man left in the squad as he had always refused to pull it off. He had been in it for a long time since she was small so he was not a naive newbie, he knew what it meant when they said she was to be given some “assistance.” She thought back on the time during her childhood when she had a bad reaction to something she had for dinner one time as her body kicked straight out. Her dad had dropped everything to help her, he held her hair back and comforted her, he had also taken time out of his hectic schedule to nurse her back to health. She hummed as a familiar tune came to mind, it was part of a song he used to help her relax she couldn’t remember the words but for some reason, she believed it had something to do with a bird.

* * *

20 years ago

“Little chick in the tree, wondering what you will do, can’t do much but dream of the day and wish with all your might, don’t worry, it’s going to be alright, someday soon your time will come, bird fly away,” he sang quietly as he held her little hand. He had gotten a flannel from one of the medics, dampened it with some water and gently placed it on her forehead, for the time being he had put Joseph in charge of the search for that week. Although his highness, of course, did not approve then Arianna had argued that it did not matter who brought their daughter home as long as they get her back safely, the guards had gotten the drill they didn’t need the Captain to supervise them all the time. He had also gotten one of his men to cover for him so it was not like they were left with no one to lead them if they landed into trouble. 

“Take all those dreams and make them all come true.”

“Bird fly away,” little Cass said as she cuddled her owl toy.

“Bird fly away,” David sang.

“Bird fly away,” they sang together.

“Love you, Daddy,” Cassandra whispered as she drifted off to sleep.

David smiled as he stroked her wavy raven hair, it was the first time she had ever said that phrase to him. “Love you to Cassandra, rest well and you should be better soon.”   


* * *

One thing she had found worked to lighten her spirits even a little was to think back on good memories like Guardian’s Days, it was funny how Corona always did things completely different to other countries. While they had separate days for mothers and fathers, one in May, the other in June, they combined the two and had it in July, no one knows why but it’s there. She thought it was a good idea that way as no one would feel left out if they did not have either a mother or father with them, it didn’t even have to be a parent, someone’s guardian could even be an older sibling whether they are blood-related or not didn't matter. She remembered a time she had seen Stan over the moon when he was surprised with a big brother card that Pete had gotten from Penny’s card stall. For the first time she smiled, she thought it was funny how much closer the pair of them were than the other guys although there were many times the pair of them had gotten on her last nerves, the brotherly kind of love they had for each other was kind of sweet.

She thought of the time she had first tried making a miniature model of her dad after meeting the local artist Penny when she was thirteen years old but it did not work as well as she had hoped, when she had picked it up to give to him, his right arm had fallen off and then the other one.

“Oh no, no, no! I messed it up!” Cassandra cried as she picked up the fallen parts and stared at her model.

“It’s alright, we can fix it… Don’t beat yourself up, we all make mistakes, even myself there have been lots of times I had missed a thief while chasing them down,” David said.

“Really? You’re not mad at me?” Cassandra asked.

“What? No, I wouldn’t get angry at you over this… Woodcarving is difficult and you’re new to it, you’re not going to be able to make a masterpiece right away it’s like with learning to sword fight, it takes time and practice. A lot of the guys were hopeless when they started out but over time they improved, now they are highly skilled… Well at least most of them are, some still have got a few flaws to work out,” David said. He had gotten up from his seat and given her a hug, he supposed she got so anxious about getting things wrong because her mother had such a bad temper she lashed out at her over the smallest of things. “Just do your best, that’s all anyone can ask for… That’s what I do to protect the King and country even when things go wrong from time to time.”

Cassandra sighed in relief, she had been so nervous about what he would think of her early attempt of the craft as a gift then there was the embarrassment of it falling apart, she really thought he would lose it with her, think that she had put no effort into it. She felt so happy to feel his strong arms on her shoulders, hugs had been very rare for them at that point.

Her smile faded and she had broken into tears, she had gone past caring whether the Stabbingtons, the other prisoners or even George heard her, she missed her dad so much, she wanted to see him so badly. The knowledge that it was out of the question unless she was by some miracle set free, she would never get that chance again.

“The sooner she’s gone the better, she’s doing my head in,” Robert muttered as he and George stood beside the door of her cell.

“Don’t worry, her time will come soon,” George said as he looked ahead with a smug smirk, he was certain what kind of sentence His Highness had in mind for her and they all knew him well enough that he was not the kind of person who shifted. He had noticed that since the “Varian Incident” he had toughened up even more, showed little to no mercy to people like her.

* * *

**11:30 PM**

_David’s House_

There was a moment of silence as David had processed everything that Eugene and Stan had told him about how life had been for his daughter since they had taken her back there. He was a lot more than upset, he was outraged. 

“Not only had he let them do that to her but he also had George chain her to the bed? What’s the point in that? He is just being ridiculous now!” David yelled. “What is he going to have them do next? Beat the living daylights out of her?”

“Could he do that?” Eugene asked.

“Possibly, his father did!” David exclaimed.

“Really? Just beat people up?” Rapunzel asked. “That’s horrible!”

“I don’t know, I don’t even know who he is anymore, after everything he is doing the same things his father had done!” David ranted, his face was almost as red as Eugene’s jacket he was so stressed.

“I’ve heard he was very extreme in his ways… Guess that was why he was assassinated,” Stan said.

“Someone killed my grandfather?” Rapunzel exclaimed, her jaw dropped in shock that someone had dared to do such a thing and succeeded!

“Yeah, he was like Varian, had a personal grudge against them but instead of kidnapping and all that other stuff, he murdered King Johnathon and Princess Elizabeth, he had also attempted to murder Frederic… I saved his life that day as he was not a very good fighter back then.”

“You saved him?” Rapunzel gasped.

David nodded. “The other men were running around looking for him, they had no idea where he was, I had only just remembered he had gone up to the main study room… Fortunately, I was close enough to get there in time.”

“Wow,” Stan gasped as he had never heard that story, not even from the oldest guards on the squad.

“Thank you so much, you had put your life on the line for my father… If it wasn’t for you… I wouldn’t be here so in a way you had saved my life to,” Rapunzel said.

“Just doing my job Princess, when I had started working on the guard, my father told me once a man takes a guard’s uniform he has to accept the fact that one day he may be buried in it,” David replied as he glanced at Stan who had come close to dying himself. They shared a knowing look that they both knew the role of the guard was to lay their lives down for King and Country when those came to threaten it.

Poor Rapunzel was devastated at the thought of people dying for her, she hoped they would not be put in that situation again although it seemed unlikely after everything that happened in the past year.

“I suppose that was why he had become so paranoid of being attacked by outsiders and had maximum security all of the time,” David said. “That was what he thought Cain was going to do when she and her gang attempted to kidnap him… He also thinks that Cassandra was planning on murdering you for the moonstone as word got out that she needed to destroy you to achieve this destiny she supposedly had.”

Rapunzel had shaken her head, she was overwhelmed with so much information of her grandfather, father and Cassandra. “Yeah, I can see why he would be so protective of mom and me after that, I know there are some people who do not like us very much… He is assuming the worst of Cassandra and it’s wrong, removing the sundrop doesn’t kill me… I don’t think Zhan Tiri meant that she had to do that to get full power, we had tried to talk to him but he just won’t listen!”

David sighed. “That’s Frederic, stubborn as ever… Once he’s made up his mind there’s no changing it, takes after his father that way to.”

"I guess he was not very welcoming when you first brought her in eh?” Eugene asked.

David had shaken his head and leaned back on his seat. “No, he did not, he was furious that I had missed Gothel and instead of his baby, I brought back her’s.”

* * *

**19 Years Ago**

“Captain where is Rapunzel?” King Frederic asked.

David had taken a deep breath as he faced the furious King and bowed. “Apologies Your Majesty, the thief got away... We missed her.”

“What? You had the whole squad out and you missed her? What were you doing?” King Frederic yelled as he banged his fist on the table.

“She was very sneaky, she cut off the bridge we had just past,” David replied.

“She was right there and you missed her!” Frederic screamed. “Right behind you! If she was so close how could you have missed her?”

“Frederic, please calm down he’s trying his best... Don’t yell at him,” Arianna said as she hugged his arm.

“This is not good enough! We shouldn’t even be in this situation, one of you should have been able to stop her even getting inside the castle! The whole point of having a guard is to protect us!” Frederick blasted.

David sighed, it pained him to see his old friend in such a state he was a loss for words for a moment but remained in on his knee.

“I am sorry King Frederic, we will get her back to you as soon as possible.” 

“Hm, search every part of Corona, even the woods. Nigel! Notify the six other kingdoms!”

“Yes, Your Highness,” David and Nigel said at the same time, which was unusual but it was strange times they were living in, after all, both knew things would never be the same after that night.

Arianna spotted Cassandra’s face as she poked her head in the door. She gasped and was just about to bolt when Arianna released her hold on her husband and approached her. “It’s alright little one… I am Queen Arianna, what’s your name?”

The little girl did not speak, she was too scared and it did not help to have a big, older man glared at her as though she was the enemy.

“What is the meaning of this David? Why have you brought someone else’s child here?” He growled as he towered over him.

“She was abandoned by the suspect, Sir… She had no one else to care for her and as you can see she is only an infant, she would not survive long on her own,” David replied.

Frederic groaned as he turned away and in a temper thrown the large map and books off the table. “Then why didn’t you just drop her off at the orphanage? You haven’t got a home!”

“The orphanages are overcrowded Sir, there are children who are homeless because there isn’t the space for them,” David replied.

“How did that happen?” Frederic asked. “What is killing this many people off?”

David sighed as he thought someone would have brought it up during the interviews, it was a big problem. “There are a lot of people in poverty, Your Highness, some people have found themselves with no choice but to give up their child for adoption as they cannot afford to give them the care they need. Some are just not fit to parent, like Cassandra’s mother.”

“Who is Cassandra?” Frederic asked.

“The girl, Sir, she abandoned her so she could make off with the Princess.”

Frederic’s moustache twitched, his frustration was clear in his facial expression and tense body language, he was furious with the Captain for failing to rescue his daughter and even more so for saving the one of the kidnapper’s.

“What do you plan do to with her then? Raise her as your daughter like I was going to do with mine?”

There was a moment of silence as David gulped like George, Frederic breathed a heavy sigh as he realised that was exactly what he planned to do.

“What? You seriously expect me to share my home with that wicked-“ His voice trailed off as he stopped himself when Arianna had nudged him and given a stern glare. “Very well, I’ll let her stay with you in the castle.”

“Where exactly Your Majesty?” David asked.

“Anywhere but the room in the West wing, that is for Rapunzel, just put her somewhere where no one else can see, the last thing we need is people spreading rumours… There is a room left from the former Lady-In-Waiting in the servants quarters and who knows, The Lord is known for his mysterious ways,” Frederic said. “She may prove to be of use to us someday, hopefully when we have our Princess back.”

* * *

“He thought she would be like some kind of dirty little secret?” Stan asked.

David nodded, it was very hard to explain to other people when he did on rare occasions take her outside, they were baffled that he had somehow managed his duties as a captain alongside parenting a small child.

“He sounded like a real jerk to you then, you were doing your best and Gothel was very sneaky and I should know, she was the one who almost killed me the first time round!” Eugene exclaimed.

Rapunzel sighed as he had gone quiet, he had calmed down from his earlier outburst but he still looked in pain and it was more than his hip like Cass he was terrified about what her father was going to do on the day of the trial.

“David, I am so sorry you are being put through this… I didn’t expect him to go this far, I promise I will try-“

“Princess, you don’t need to apologise, you have not done anything wrong, I know you want to do anything you can to help Cassandra just like Eugene and Stanley… Even Varian and Lance, he had knocked earlier to offer to get help me as he had heard that I am ill, he had gone to Xavier for advice on how to deal with the pain in my hip… Thanks to them, I’ve been getting better, none of you has held a grudge against her even though she had seriously hurt you or even myself for bringing her into your lives,” David said. “I can’t thank you all enough.”

“No problem, you’ve always had my back so I’m gonna have yours,” Stan said and Eugene nodded, that was true.

“I know she did but I know that was not the real Cass, she had a lot of issues… Unlike her mother she had seen the error of her ways and tried hard to set things right, she had even risked her life to save us from Zhan Tiri, that is why I do not hold a grudge against her,” Rapunzel said.

“You never hold grudges, that’s what makes you such a sweetheart and I love you so much,” Eugene said as he hugged her as he noticed she had started to become a bit emotional.

“Yeah, I need to make my father break his habit of doing that so he does not turn into the tyrant his father was, I won’t let him try to shut me up when I tell him that he’s wrong especially with the way he is dealing with Cassandra! This Princess is not going speechless this time!” Rapunzel exclaimed. “That was the mistake I had made when Varian was in there, I should have fought for him to be released sooner then we could have rescued his dad quicker… We were lucky he hadn’t died in there!”

“Just be careful Princess, I don’t want you to get hurt either,” David warned her, although he wouldn’t like to think that he would raise a hand against her but after what he heard it was still a concern.

“Take Nigel or Captain with you, Princess, I would not be allowed to intervene if he does go too far but they would and one thing Nigel is good at is calming him down,” Stan said.

Rapunzel had frozen, did they think he would do such a thing to her just because his father had? Although he had shouted at her more than usual she never thought he would do that then again she had not been with him for very long, she barely knew anything about him at all. She had put on a brave face for the sake of keeping the spirits up just like on the day of the Final Battle against Zhan Tiri. “I’m sure I will be fine… Nigel is usually there anyway but even he has been more nervous than usual around him.”

David breathed a heavy sigh, as much as he appreciated their help and support he could not see how it could end happily for him and Cassandra, the odds were very against them considering all the things she had been accused of, most of which she is likely to be found guilty. Most of the people seemed to be managing just fine but for him, this was a nightmare that never ended, even when he did wake up, how he wished it were that simple to get everything to normal. He wished he could go back to the day she was preparing to leave for the trip, told her about her mother and how much he loved her. He had already tried to go back as far as the start but that did not work out the way that he had hoped. 


	9. In Remembrance

“How can I ever be at ease with Frederic or those men after this? Their methods lack a moral code,” David said as he paced back and forth in the room. “An eye for an eye will make the world go blind, you don’t place an arrow on your bow, close your eyes and shoot!” 

“You know, while I was trying to get through your extreme training, Cassandra had once said to me, for someone who spent most of his life breaking the rules to get what he wants. You’re having an awful lot of trouble dealing with someone who is breaking the rules to get what he wants,” Eugene said. 

David paused and stared at the younger man in confusion, that did not make any sense to him, what rules could he break without risking his life or Cassandra’s? “What do you suggest I do Eugene? Break her out of prison myself? Fight with Frederic or George?”

Eugene sighed. “No, not directly fight him but maybe we could make a strong argument to save her life.” 

David shook his head, he still had no clear idea where he was going with this. “How are we going to do that without getting ourselves into trouble?” 

Eugene smirked as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. 

“I have a plan.”

* * *

**01:00 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

“Guys! My office, now!” Eugene yelled as he stood at the door and pointed at the door once Dan, Robert, Johnathon and several other men came down to the guards’ area, they grumbled and groaned as they reluctantly followed their new leader into the room. He waited until they were all in before he closed the door and winked at the bottom of the corridor where Stan, Arianna and Rapunzel hid.

“This way, Your Highnesses,” Stan whispered as lead them downstairs and to part of the dungeon where Cassandra was, she would have just had her lunch, he hoped she wasn’t in as bad of a state as she was earlier. He was also nervous that word would get to His Majesty the King and then he would be in trouble for going against two direct orders, keeping the Princess out and to not speak about Cassandra to her.

“Thank you, Stanley,” Arianna said as she and Rapunzel entered, it was the first time the Queen had entered the dungeons, she did not expect to be a pleasant experience but it still saddened her to see people so low and miserable. She was surprised the Stabbingtons were still there after everything they had done, especially kidnapping Eugene and the former Captain’s daughter.

“Hey, Cass, how are you?” Stan asked as he opened the door for them, she was on her bed with her back to everyone, she was quiet but appeared to still be awake, she did not speak just groaned as she had a splitting headache.

“Cassandra! I’ve missed you so much!” Rapunzel exclaimed as she dropped onto the bed and given her a hug she shivered as her friend’s torso felt damp when she lifted her arm she had seen bits of gruel on her sleeve. “Oh no, you have been sick! How could they just leave you like this? You need to change your clothes and get cleaned up!”

“I don’t have any other clothes,” Cassandra muttered as she facepalmed, she was so embarrassed. “One of them said he was going to get help this morning, still waiting.”

“Oh, you poor dear… I’m so sorry, I have tried to get Frederic to call it off but he just won’t listen to me or anyone for that matter, I told him there’s no need for this,” Arianna said as she perched on the edge of the bed and put a hand on her shoulder. “Stanley, is there any spare shirts that Cassandra can use?”

Stan shifted awkwardly as he rubbed his shoulder, he knew there was but it was against protocol to give those shirts or any clothing to a prisoner, he had already pushed it by breaking two direct orders from the King. “Well… I’m not allowed to give prisoners things… Your Highness.”

“Oh no…” Rapunzel gasped as she spotted a crimson splotch mark on the old mattress and the source of the blood on the back of her dark leggings, just when things could not have gotten worse. “Cass, you’re bleeding! They haven’t even given you anything for that!”

Arianna breathed a heavy sigh. “Well, we can’t leave her in dirty clothes, get her a shirt by order of The Queen!”

Stan had frozen up for a moment, it was very rare they had orders from a Queen, did that change things? He then came to another problem, he couldn’t leave them unattended in the dungeons and wasn’t sure how long the Captain was going to be able to hold the guys up for.

“Don’t worry about His Majesty I’ll deal with him later!” Arianna ordered. She pulled a cardigan out of her bag and covered up Cassandra’s lower body so she could at least have a bit of dignity. “Is there by any chance a room where she can get changed?”

“She can be escorted to the washroom, Your Highness… Hopefully, no one else will spot you two in here while we’re gone,” Stan said as he unlocked the cuff that chained her to the bed. Arianna gasped, she had not noticed that and were horrified that they had even gone that far when she was not aggressive at all.

“Why is she chained to her bed? That’s just ridiculous!” Arianna shouted.

“Apparently, she attacked the guys when they had taken her away to give her their so-called assistance, it’s been a nightmare for her,” Stan said as he helped her up, usually the cuffs were put on her wrists but he just left them where they were. He knew Cassandra would not make an escape attempt and the other guys were either elsewhere or in the Captain’s office.

“We’ll go with you, that way we won’t get caught and you wouldn’t get wrong for leaving us unsupervised,” Rapunzel said as she followed them out.

Stan sighed, they could still get caught if another guard came along and seen her empty cell or saw them all waiting outside for her so either way, he was taking a risk but nodded, at least he would have comfort that they were safe away from the Stabbingtons or Cain.

“You’re Majesties with all due respect why are you doing this for me?” Cassandra asked as she walked beside Stan, she was still shocked that he did not cuff her, he wasn’t always exactly by the book but even he knew that. 

“I’ve already told you, Cass, you’re my best friend, when you need help I’m going to do the best I can to do that for you,” Rapunzel said.

“I am surprised it even happened…It had stopped while I was training with Zhan-Tiri, I thought that was just a side effect,” Cassandra whispered.

“The sundrop didn’t have that effect on me… Though I don’t know about the moonstone, that is kind of the opposite thing,” Rapunzel said. “It’s horrible that the guards don’t even give you anything for that… I know, there aren’t many women in the dungeon but still, it’s just wrong.”

“It’s okay Cassandra, these things happen, we’ve got your back,” Arianna said as she moved back and put an arm around Cassandra’s shoulders.

“I-I don’t understand, I had stooped to even lower than Varian’s level was… I harmed the people of Corona, I had hurt you, Rapunzel, Eugene… I had almost got you all killed, everyone else is still angry with me even Pete hates me now!” Cassandra cried and dissolved into tears.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright… Yes, you have upset many people and it is going to take some time for them to recover or for you to earn their trust again. You have frightened them a lot but at least you are acknowledging that. You have a lot more kindness in your heart than a lot of the people in there,” Arianna said. “Things will get better, we all just need some space to calm down and clear our heads so we can all move forward.”

Cassandra breathed a deep sigh, she felt awful, she was embarrassed by having the Queen and Rapunzel see her in such a state, bits of vomit in her hair, all down her front and blood leaked at the back of her leggings. Before she looked invincible, powerful in just a few days she had been reduced to… She wasn’t even sure what, she was dirty and weak, she guessed to Arianna she looked just like that lost little girl the former Captain had brought in although she was clean then she likely would have been very hungry. These days just the thought of it made her stomach ache more, she never had a problem before she had gone off the rails with Zhan Tiri. She paused when Stan did, she glanced up at him, he looked very anxious as though he thought they were being watched.

“In here,” Stan whispered as he gestured to the door beside him and glanced at the other side of the corridor for anyone else, they would be more likely to get caught if they followed him to the storage room so it was better they hid in there. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

Arianna nodded and led Cassandra and Rapunzel into the washroom, she was also on the lookout for other guards. “Here, I had brought some of these for you… Just in case,” Arianna whispered as she passed a few napkins to her, they were disposable ones since she knew she would not get a chance to wash them. She then pulled a pair of black leggings from her bag.

“Good thing I brought a pair of my old leggings to.”

“I still don’t understand why are you being so nice to me? I had put your daughter in danger and I was supposed to protect her!” Cassandra cried as she held the leggings and the napkins.

“I tend to be more forgiving than Frederic... I know that you have been trying hard to make amends and you had worked with Rapunzel to take down Zhan Tiri even though that had put you in danger, that was a very brave thing you did,” Arianna said.

“You think so? I should have come clean sooner, I didn’t come to your side until the last minute,” Cassandra asked as she bowed her head and rubbed her shoulder.

“Plus Est En Vous,” Rapunzel said.

“What?” Cassandra asked, she had never heard the phrase before, she didn’t know any language apart from her first one.

“It means there’s more in you, my mom told me about it once,” Rapunzel replied as she put a hand on her shoulder. “It isn’t what others think of you, it’s what you think of yourself.”

Cassandra sighed as she stared down at the floor. “I don’t even like myself, not anymore… I had picked on Eugene and Lance for being losers and I ended up becoming the biggest loser here! I have become a bigger criminal than the pair of them!”

“I know but you’re getting back on track now… You had seen where you had gone wrong and started to put things right with me and everyone else,” Rapunzel said.

“You believe that?”

Rapunzel smiled as she hugged her friend. “I’ve always had, although Eugene was a bit unsure.”

“Stanley.”

Stan gulped as he heard George’s voice, it looked like the Captain had missed one when he called them to his office. He tried to hide the spare shirt behind his back, though that had just made him look more suspicious.

“What have you got there?” George asked.

“N-Nothing, I often put my hands behind my back… When it’s sore,” Stan lied, he was not a very good actor. It was clear he didn’t buy it as he glared daggers at him.

“You have been acting very suspiciously, I have noticed that you have been talking to the Princess a lot more lately and it just so happens that The King is asking for her. You know we have been given direct orders not to speak about the Cassandra case to the Princess,” he said.

“I wasn’t… Talking to her about Cass, just checking she’s ok, she’s only young and has been through a lot,” Stan replied which he thought was at least partly true.

“Hmm, did you need to check on her twice a week? If she was upset wouldn’t it be more appropriate for her to talk to the Captain, he is her fiancé after all and you have also been paying the former Captain visits,” George asked as he stroked his beard. “You know, it’s a very bad move to go against an order from the crown… One of the most serious offences, if His Highness found out well… You would be done for.”

“I just see her while I’m there, she does talk to the Captain as well… He did not say anything about talking to the former Captain either. If you don’t mind leaving me to get on with my job and I’ll let you get on with yours,” Stan replied and slipped the shirt by his side as he turned around.Before he had the chance to take one more step George grabbed his arm.

“Why do you have a recruit’s shirt, Stan?”

Stan sighed in dismay as the gig was up, stealth was not one of his strong points.

“Cassandra has been sick, she needs to have something clean on and it’s also um… That time of the month.”

George scoffed. “I don’t care, you have never done this for Cain or any other prisoners what makes Cassandra so special to you?”

“I have known her since she was a kid… I had seen her die in that explosion, I feel the pain her dad did when she went off the rails as that is the way Pete is going… Yeah we are not blood-related but to me, he’s my brother,” Stan said.

“Oh, okay so you are helping her, the very thing the King has told us not to do!” George shouted.

“We can’t just leave her to bleed out and with vomit all over herself! I’m not trying to break her out, just help her get cleaned up she may be a monster to you but she’s a human being,” Stan replied. “It would just be cruel to leave her in that state!”  
  
George growled and grabbed him by the collar and pinned him to the wall. “Fine, give her the shirt and get on with your work but a word of warning… If you try anything funny again I will alert His Highness that you disobeyed his direct orders, is that clear?”  
  
Stan gulped as he was right, for once, if the King did find out he would be in a load of trouble, Cassandra was the one person he hated the most, possibly even more than Zhan Tiri. He hated it but he had him, he was stuck.  
  
“Keep quiet and if you report about me to the Captain again, I will destroy you!” George hissed in his ear then stared him down with a vicious glare. “Do you understand?”  
  
“Yeah,” Stan muttered.  
  
“Good, remember you’re going to be watched Stanley,” George said then released him and watched as he rushed down the corridor. "Know your place."  
  
Cassandra was bombarded with hugs from Rapunzel, she had brought out an old hairbrush and tidied her raven hair.  
  
“You’ll get through this Cass, I believe in you,” Rapunzel said as she went through her short bob as gently as possible, it was the first time she had ever done her friend’s hair, it had always been the other way round.  
  
“You sure about that?” Cassandra asked. Rapunzel sighed as she put the brush down and put herself in front of her.  
  
“That is the second time you have asked me that, you came back to my side when I needed your help in the final battle, you could have just left me or continued to lash out at me but you didn’t.”  
  
Cassandra smiled as she lifted her head to meet her eyes, she had no idea what she had done to deserve such a great friend who loved her unconditionally. They both jumped as there was a knock at the door, Arianna had answered it for them and was relieved it was Stan but the anxious expression on his face worried her.  
  
“Stanley, is something wrong?”  
  
“Here's the shirt… You and the Princess will have to leave, I was caught… If he catches me with you down here… I-I will get into big trouble with His Majesty, I have already disobeyed two of his direct orders,” Stan whispered. “Better be quick, I heard the King has guards looking for you and the Princess.”  
  
Arianna sighed as she shook her head, there was always one that had to spoil it, despite his best efforts he had been busted. “Rapunzel, we have to go… I’m sorry Cassandra but one of the men are onto us,” she said as she had given Cass a quick hug, Rapunzel also joined in as it looked like this was going to be the last chance she would get to embrace her best friend.  
  
“It’s going to be okay Cass, I will not let my father hurt you… You do not deserve to die,” Rapunzel said as she hugged her tight then pulled away and wiped the tears as they slid down her cheeks. She looked very tired, she guessed she had not been able to sleep as she dreamt about her grim demise or maybe had the same nightmare she had with them on a cliff. “I don’t want to lose you, Cass, you’re my best friend even after everything we have done to each other and I had just got you back.”  
  
Cassandra sighed as she gently wiped the Princess’ tear with her thumb. “You won’t lose me Raps… Even if I do end up dying, I will always be with you in your heart as long as you remember me.”  
  
Rapunzel could not help herself, she had broken down into tears and thrown herself at Cassandra again, she did not care that she got vomit all over the front of her new dress, she was scared that she was going to lose her friend for good. Although she was right in saying that the people you have lost are not truly gone as long as you keep them alive in your mind she wanted her to live a long, full, happy life just like she was going to. She wanted to see her through her redemption and path to recovery, not think of her in remembrance in the following month.


	10. Secrets and Lies

**01:45 PM**

_Rapunzel’s Room_

“This is so unfair! How am I supposed to help Cass in court if he won’t let me see her?” Rapunzel exclaimed as they seated on her bed. She opened her bag and looked at the small box Attila had given her with one of his cupcakes that she was going to give her, although since she had just been sick it didn’t seem like such a good idea.

“I had just brought her back to life! Does he have any idea how hard that is? If she dies all of that effort will end up being in vain! This was my problem and he’s not letting me have any say in it!” 

Arianna breathed a heavy sigh. “I know, I have told him he has to stop leaving you in the dark, he had made that mistake before when the rocks appeared, as if it would be as easy to pluck them out of the ground like weeds!” 

“Right? He’s being so cruel to Cassandra! I had seen her dad with Eugene and Stan earlier, he is terrified that he is going to have her killed to! He’s sick to and though he is getting a bit better, he needs her back, he could still get worse!” Rapunzel cried. “I don’t think Xavier’s potions can heal him, just take the edge of the pain off, it’s not just his hip either, he is struggling with his grief for Cass, he needs help to but there isn’t anyone who can give it to him!” 

“I know, we are not very good at handling that kind of thing right now, there is not a lot of understanding about emotional health, I am worried for Cassandra and her father, they are both sick, physically and emotionally… I haven’t had the chance to visit him, it would be hard with a dozen guards trailing behind me,” Arianna said.

“I know the feeling, I thought you got him to lay them off?” Rapunzel asked. 

“That was just in the castle grounds, if I were to go outside they would be told to walk with me… We were so close, it’s a shame our visit with Cassandra was cut short,” Arianna said. 

“I wanted to find out what happened with Cass and the guards, one of them has been saying she has been attacking them but after seeing her in that state, I can’t believe it, she’s not as strong as she used to be… She’s scared and weak, I felt awful when we left her, it was like she just accepted she may just die at the end of this, as though she knows she is going to be killed,” Rapunzel said. 

“I know, it had broken my heart when I heard her say that to… She’s so young, she should have a whole life ahead of her, though it does appear that would likely be her fate should she be found guilty of attempted murder as well as treason,” Arianna replied. She put a comforting hand on her daughter’s shoulder as she had seen tears welled up in her eyes again. “The truth is hard to sort out between the secrets and the lies with so many faces watching you with the perfect stranger’s eye.” 

Rapunzel opened her journal, she was close to the last page, sketches she had done during her meeting with Cassandra’s father, a creative way of note taking there was a painting of her father angry and shouting, Cass and her father crying, scary guards, Eugene, George, Stan and Pete. She divided them with thin outlined panels which were quite faint as she had drawn them lightly. “The line has become very blurry between what is right and what is wrong, if we don’t do something soon more people are going to find themselves going down a dark path. It’s scary that some of the men had lost their humanity even someone like Pete, I also fear that dad is turning into the tyrant I have heard his father was.” 

Arianna sighed as she looked down at the page, she was right, some of them had become so desensitised that nothing fazed them, they did not care that Cassandra was sick or hurt. She had also noticed that Frederic had become more cold since Cassandra’s first attack, she like the former Captain feared his dark side was taking over as he like many people became confused about what justice is. Yes, criminals had to be punished but there were lines that never ought to be crossed, the trouble was he looked like he was going to do just that.

** 02:00 PM  **

_ Castle Dungeons  _

Cassandra was relieved to finally be in something fresh and clean, she felt a bit better though she still had cramps, fortunately Stan was there to escort her to the washroom when she needed it. She was still exhausted from the so-called treatment from George and his buddies. She had soon found herself drifting off, it was unusual for her to sleep in the afternoons she just hoped she would get to rest peacefully this time.

No such luck, she had another strange dream, she was in the same place the other one was set in. There was another stampede of horses, where the heck did they come from? There was a trial of black rocks that followed them so she supposed that was what they were trying to run away from, some had been unlucky and had become incased in it. 

She gasped in horror as she had seen her dad hanging on the edge of the cliff, George leered over him just like he had done to her, although she was unlikely to make it in time she ran as fast as she could. 

“Traitors pay with their lives, you turned your back on us and tried to get her out of it!” George growled. 

“Pete, help me!” He cried in desperation, just like she did. 

“You’re on your own Dave, you’re nothing to me,” he coldly replied as he turned his back and walked away. 

“Dad!” Cassandra screamed as George had thrown him off, she also screamed it in reality. 

“Cassandra, what’s wrong?” 

She jumped at the sound of one of the men’s voice, her eyes darted at the cell door and then she breathed a sigh of relief as she only saw Stan there. 

“Did you have another nightmare?” 

“Yeah… I can’t seem to sleep for long without having one, it’s so weird and doesn’t make any sense at all,” Cassandra said as she sat herself up. “George said traitors pay with their lives and had thrown my dad off a cliff.”

“What? That doesn’t make any sense, your dad isn’t a traitor… He hasn’t done anything wrong!” Stan exclaimed. 

“I don’t know, he seems to think it’s because he left you all to deal with me when I was… The Blue Monster,” Cassandra replied. 

“Blue Monster?” 

“That’s what people call me to refer to the time I had the moonstone as it made me blue… In more ways than one,” Cassandra said. “I was too far away to save him… He begged Pete for help but he just turned his back and walked away.” 

Stan breathed a heavy sigh. 

“Oh boy, looks like he’s going to be the bad guy this time, what is it with people turning bad all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know, it looks like George is the ringleader here, he has somehow manipulated Pete and is stringing him along for some reason… That’s not the strangest thing about it, there’s a stampede of horses and black rocks shooting up behind them… That was new, they weren’t there last night,” Cassandra said. 

“You had dreamt of this last night?” Stan asked. “How does the Princess come into this?” 

Cassandra sighed as she rubbed her temple, she felt another headache coming on.

“Last night it was Rapunzel that was hanging on the cliff, I tried to save her then Zhan Tiri grabbed me then George and Pete appeared in her place!”

Stan had fallen silent as he looked down at the floor, unsure of what to say so just sighed, Cassandra glanced at him, he looked almost as worn out as she was. He had unusual dark marks under his eyes, she noticed he was no longer the goofball he was either, he was suddenly so scared about putting a foot wrong and getting into trouble. 

“Are you ok?” She asked. 

Stan breathed a heavy sigh as he leaned against the wall and looked back at her, surprised that she asked how he was? After everything she had just been through she was concerned about his welfare? 

“Not so good… I’m terrified about what the King is going to do to you and to me if he finds out what we had tried to pull off! When I told the Captain I would keep away from Pete I lied and we had gotten into another fight.”

“I know, it’s not looking good for me right now… There’s so many charges against me and His Highness hates me, heck I’m pretty much public enemy number one!” Cassandra exclaimed.

Usually, she would not have cared about the goings-on between them, especially when she had bigger problems but she thought it might just give her some clues at what her nightmares were hinting at. “Don’t worry, he won’t get mad at you for that, my dad did the same thing when I was the Blue Monster… What happened?”

Stan paused for a moment then reluctantly told her, he thought it was odd how they had come to trust each other with speaking about their feelings and fears after fighting so hard against each other. “Well, I had seen him last night… He appeared to be drunk, he’s a lightweight so it wouldn’t have taken much, he doesn’t usually drink so that was strange.” 

* * *

“Hey, I talked to the Captain-“ Stan said as he approached him, despite being warned not to at least until he had returned to work.

Pete looked a wreck, he had been walking awkwardly, his hair was a mess, he looked hurt and furious at the same time. “I know you talked to him! You are great buddies now aren’t ya? Now you’re such great friends why aren’t you following him around?”

Stan was stunned as he roughly shoved past him, he was worried as his voice sounded weird, a bit slurred. It then dawned on him that he had been drinking or rather someone had coerced him into it.

“Pete, come on… This isn’t like you, why have you turned your back on Dave now?”

“I don’t care about David or Cassandra! They are nothing to do with me! I live alone, nobody else understand? Nobody! Especially backstabbers like her and you!”

“I was only trying to help you!” Stan shouted as his outburst was like a hard punch in the gut. 

"Ah yeah, getting me dismissed, that was very helpful... Thanks Stan!” Pete shouted then turned and stormed off again. 

“Peter!” Stan shouted, he didn't go after him, just stood there with a look of fear. "Peter, stop!"   
  
Pete paused for a moment then walked further down the street. 

* * *

There was a moment of silence between the two of them, Cassandra thought on the plus side it was not as violent as the fight she had with her father, it partly reminded her of one of the first fights she had with Rapunzel.

“He’s very angry and I get it… I know that feeling all too well, I think it’s best you give him some space and time alone, although Rap’s meant well often her attempts of talking to me did not work,” Cassandra said. “It did not matter who talked to me, Raps, Eugene or Varian, I was mad at everyone and everything, not even my own father could save me from myself… Sometimes people just have to learn from their own mistakes even if the consequences are severe when I said I had nothing left to lose I hadn’t even thought about my own life.” 

She leaned her head on her knee and breathed a heavy sigh, she stared off into space as she thought back on those days. She blinked when she felt his large, strong hand on her shoulder.

“Yeah, I remember… It was so weird, it was like you had become… a completely different person when you crashed Eugene’s party and the Goodwill Festival, though I heard from the Princess that was a big misunderstanding. That was when you had first tried to come clean,” Stan said. “That’s what made me realise you were genuine, he has gotten it wrong when he says you didn’t come on our side until the last minute… You had tried to make amends but then Varian’s gun thing went off and you attacked because you thought they were attacking you, Dan and Rob pinned you down when the Princess told them to back off… It wasn’t well thought out, bad timing so it had gotten way out of hand, I have no idea where those rhinos and bearcats came from.” 

Cassandra sighed as she remembered that day full well, what a disaster that had been, one of the many reasons His Highness hated her. 

“Yeah, I lashed out when I should have remained calm… Maybe it would have been better if I had waited a bit later to talk to Raps, I just started to feel guilty about hurting her and the others… It wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. I am not going to try and play innocent, I was in the wrong, I had knocked her out cold, injured people by dropping them into the ground and attacking them with the rocks, I even turned The Brotherhood against them! They had these strangers attacking them at random, some did know them very well… Loved them even.”

Stan nodded. “Yeah, Varian’s dad got caught up in it, he attacked us once then collapsed… Varian had done something to his helmet to make it stop but luckily he made it through okay, I wouldn’t like to get on the wrong side of him again.” 

Cassandra nodded, she knew that nothing angered him more than someone harming his father, just like her, when she had seen her dad get hurt by the giant Ruddiger and set off for battle she had seen red. She was also scared and nervous to, that she would let everyone down as she had never led a charge before, a part of her was afraid that she would lose. “It’s funny, I was so afraid of letting dad down, I pushed myself so hard to get some approval and praise… I ended up letting everyone down big time while I was in the Dark Kingdom with Rapunzel and Eugene for the moonstone.” 

“Yeah, there are times I seem to let the team down to… feel like such an idiot for getting distracted so easily, The King was really angry with us after the kidnapping of the Queen, said what if Varian was an assassin? She could have been killed! Some of the guys also say I’m not fit to be a Royal Guard, I’m too stupid,” Stan said. “When things go wrong like I try to help sort it but often does not work… People say I’m as useful as a plank of wood.” 

“I used to get dirty looks from the other handmaidens for not being ladylike, some were just jealous of how much Raps liked me as though I was her favourite… People teased me about it to as though it makes me too weak to put up a good fight,” Cassandra said. “Raps had told me about some kind of phrase her mom says… Plus Est En Vous, I don’t know what language it is part of but she said it means there’s more in you… That it does not matter what other people think about you, it’s what you think of yourself that matters.” 

Stan nodded. “Yeah, she often says that… She’s sweet like that, at least Rapunzel has one positive adult role model in her life, be interesting to see what she will be like when she’s Queen.” 

“It sure will, in time when she’s gotten the hang of the whole Royal life thing... She could be a good leader, show the compassion and mercy that has sadly been lacking these past few years,” Cassandra said. 

“Yeah... Be good for her to make some changes to the way things are done around here,” Stan sighed, he would be glad to see the death penalty and the torturing go. He looked down at the package he held in his left arm and remembered what he had come to do, he passed it on to Cassandra. “Here, I washed your clothes for you so you can change back into them when you need to.” 

Cassandra gasped as she unfolded her tunic, all traces of vomit were gone and her leggings were spotless to. “Woah... You did that for me?” 

Stan shrugged. “It’s fine, I told your dad I would look after you while you’re down here.” 

“Thank you, Stan... I can’t believe you just did that.” 

Stan shrugged. “No problem.” 

They had gotten so distracted they had not noticed that George was around the corner listening in on their conversation, he frowned as he could not understand how Stan could just stand there and talk to her like she was an old friend not the person that had attacked and threatened their only Princess and people that they had taken an oath to protect at all costs. How could he forgive her so easily? He huffed he had made it very clear whose side he was on, he turned and sneaked out of the dungeon. 

* * *

**02:20 PM**

_Throne Room_

“Father why in God’s name do you have Cassandra chained to her bed?” Rapunzel asked. “Why has she been denied medical assistance yet had the unnecessary feeding assistance forced upon her?”

“Rapunzel have you forgotten what that woman has done to you? To us and our people? She does not deserve any sympathy!” Frederic roared. “She had spat at the guards and thrown the food up herself, she’s just being difficult!” 

“She was not putting it on! What would be the point in that? It wouldn’t get her released, you need to do something about the guards... It’s getting too out of hand, they act aggressively with her even though she is clearly no longer a threat!” Arianna pleaded. “She did not attack the guards, how could she? She does not have the energy or strength to tackle one grown man now let alone four!”

Frederic growled as he had grown frustrated with people getting at him either about the rocks or Cassandra. “How do you know what state she’s in? You haven’t seen her since the battle and for all you know it could just be an act to try and make us go soft on her, I’m not falling for it! You hear that Cassandra? I will not fall for it! You have hurt us for the last time!” 

Arianna breathed a heavy sigh as she facepalmed, she did not know where she was going to go with it. “I had seen her.” 

“You what? I have told you to stay away from her, she’s dangerous!” Frederic yelled. 

“She was, the thing that made her a threat is gone now and will never get it back... She’s terrified, she has already accepted that you may kill her which I hope you don’t, you can’t just keep killing people off like that,” Arianna said. 

“She can still be a threat even without that blasted stone! I have been told she attacked the guards multiple times when they took her out of her cell, this morning she projected her vomit onto one of them! She is chained to the bed in case she tries to escape!” Frederic shouted. 

“Stop with all the secrets and the lies! How can she hurt us now? The worst she could do is pass a bug and that was an accident, how could she have avoided the guards when they were all on top of her?” Rapunzel cried. “She was left in dirty clothes and to bleed out which is really unhygienic! It’s no wonder she got sick!” 

“Why are you worrying so much about her welfare? She had endangered your very life multiple times! She wanted the same thing that horrid Gothel did! Your power!” Frederic yelled. 

Arianna breathed another sigh as she put herself between her husband and her daughter, she put her hands on his shoulders and looked into his dark blue eyes. “Frederic, you’re angry, I can understand why but don’t do the whole eye for eye thing... Don’t make the same mistakes your father had done... Although it feels like the right thing to do is to rid the world of Cassandra once and for all, this dark path will leave a permanent mark. I know it feels good to get back at people who had hurt you but if you’re not careful it can turn dark. As time goes on you go further away from the light, soon you would lose your thread, lose your cool then lose your head. The losses become harder to ignore then you see you loose your hope and your faith until you lose complete control and suddenly realise there’s nothing left to lose.” 

“Father, trust us... To punish evil with evil will make you a villain to,” Rapunzel said. “If you kill Cassandra when she had already surrendered wouldn’t make you any better than your father was!” 

At that moment Frederic snapped, it looked like they had found another one of his trigger words. “Have you two completely lost your minds? I am trying to protect you and now you’re saying I am the bad guy!” 

“No, that’s not it at all... Fred, I know you mean well but I don’t want you to take it too far,” Arianna said. “You’re changing and it’s scaring both Rapunzel and I... Please just wait-“

“Wait? I refuse to listen to anymore of this nonsense, get out!” Frederic shouted. 

“Fred-“ 

“Out!” He yelled. 

“Come on, Rapunzel... It’s not working,” Arianna said as she grabbed a hold of Rapunzel’s hand and pulled her out of the room. She looked terrified, she had never seen him like that, the one time she felt brave enough to confront him, he scared her off. 

“Mom! We can’t just leave him like this! He is losing his temper too much, he keeps saying how Cassandra is dangerous but he fails to realise that when he is in this state he is the most dangerous person here!” Rapunzel cried. “It’s horrifying, I haven’t seen him like this since he was on the mood potion... Oh no.” 


	11. Warrior

Friday 10:00 AM

Throne Room

Stan sighed as he stood still as a statue in front of the doors, he had stood there for three hours and nothing happened just two more to go then he would be free to head down to the servants quarters and have his lunch. He hoped Cassandra was okay, that the guys would have learnt not to be so hard with her but sadly he doubted it, he was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of rushed footsteps from the left corridor. 

“Stan… Something is w-wrong… with Cassandra, I don’t know what to do!” Joseph exclaimed he panted as he rushed as fast as he possibly could up the many stairs. “She’s having another episode… Screaming the place down, you’re the only one who can calm her down… She doesn’t trust me or any of the other guys.”

Stan groaned as he shot the man a glare, it was about this time they had finished ‘assisting’ her with breakfast. “What did they do to her this time? I swear if he hurts her again, I’m going to lose it!” 

“I don’t know! I wasn’t there this time!” Joseph exclaimed. “Neither was George, he’s in Old Corona today helping with the repairs.” 

Along the way, they almost ran into Rapunzel. “Stan? Joe? What’s wrong?” 

“Don’t worry Princess, it will be alright,” Stan replied then dashed off, he had been trying to avoid her in fear that he would get caught passing on information that the King did not want her to know.

Within fifteen minutes they had gotten down to the dungeon and there she was, curled up like a baby again, although she had stopped screaming she was clearly in a lot of pain, she had broken down, she had only been in there for a few days and it had already damaged her. Stan unlocked the door and knelt by her side so he could look at her face to face. 

“Cass! Cass! Look at me, Cass... It’s, me, Stan.” 

Cassandra didn’t stop crying and shaking.

“I can’t do this Stan... Just leave me alone, there’s no point in trying anymore!”

“Hey, it’s ok, it’s ok,” Stan said in a quiet hushed voice.

”It’s not okay Stan! They think I wanted to kill Princess Rapunzel! The only Princess Corona has!” Cassandra cried. Her breathing worsened, the little colour she had drained from her face.   
  
“Cass, Cass... Listen... Pretend no one else is here, it's just the two of us,” Stan said as he held her right hand. “Shh, shh, try closing your eyes, it could make it easier.” 

She paused for a moment and stared at him as her sobs subsided and waited to hear what he was going to say next. She did as she was told and closed her eyes.   
  
“Okay, breathe in.”   


Although she was a bit shaky she had taken a deep breath in. 

“Breathe out,” Stan said his voice quiet and calm, much different to the other guys.   


Cassandra breathed out through her nose.  


“Breathe in .”   


Cassandra kept her eyes shut and taken another deep breath.  


“Hold for a seconds.”   


Cassandra held her breath, she felt the muscles tensed up in her shoulders and her head hurt as though Dan had bashed her head against the stone wall.  
  
“Now breathe out.”   


He had spent the next few minutes coaching her with her breathing and over time she had felt herself become calmer. 

“Thank you, Stan... How did you learn to do that?” Cassandra asked.   


“I have some good medical knowledge... I used to do this with Pete and go over the recipe for strawberry scones to help him get over his fear of horses,” Stan replied.   


Cassandra chuckled as she remembered the day she and Eugene interrogated him about what was happening to the Castle staff. When she asked him what happened on that day he had taken it literally and told them every minute including the recipe.   
“I’m scared, I know he won’t be happy until I am out of Rap’s life for good, I’m pretty sure he is going to have me killed.” 

Stan had shaken his head. “No, it might not come to that... When you face him again just be honest and tell it as it was. He doesn’t need to kill you off, you’re no longer a threat to us.” 

“Try telling him that,” Cassandra muttered. 

“That’s what we are doing, convince him to be more humane to you, although that may mean you spend several years down here or get sent off to the middle of nowhere,” Stan said.   
  
“Yeah or just kicked out of Corona... Either way, I will never get to see my dad again will I?” Cassandra said as she stared at the opposite wall.

He bowed his head, although he felt like giving her a big bear hug doing so would cross another line and he had already past a few, it devastated him to see her in such a state. “You’ll be ok, you will get your chance to prove those guys wrong… Plus Est En Vous remember?” 

Cassandra found herself smiling more as he reminded her of those words. 

“I better get back upstairs… Before one of the guys spots me here, the ship’s been super tight lately, feel like I’m walking on eggshells,” Stan said as he shook his head. The last thing he expected to happen was for her mood to switch back to fear again. “I’m sorry… Just keep thinking of the fight against those guys… Keep holding on there and I’ll be there to help you, whenever you need it.” 

He sighed, he felt awful for leaving her but he had no choice, he was scheduled to guard the throne room.

“Thank you,” Cassandra said for the third time, she had not been herself for a long time, she had never thanked him that many times before or anyone for that matter. 

Stan nodded as he quietly closed the door and locked it up again, he glanced at Joseph who looked at him with a puzzled look as like some of the others wondered how he could be so kind to someone who had caused so much harm.

“It doesn’t hurt to be kind, maybe if people did show more of that we wouldn’t get so much trouble,” Stan said as he walked out of the dungeon. 

Cassandra turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling as she thought of what he had told her, thought of the trial as an upcoming battle. She was going to kick George’s and Dan’s butt! 

“I will fight those guys… I’ve got this!” She said out loud without thinking as she thought there were no other guards around, she didn’t realise Dan was close by, he snickered as he listened to her. He was going to have a lot to tell George when he returned from Old Corona, he tutted as he walked over to her door and watched her through the bars. He had a face mask on, that was not part of the Royal Guard uniform!

“Screaming the place down and talking to yourself, silly girl, maybe we should get someone to check you out after all.”

Cassandra had jumped, where did he spring from? She gulped as she had seen him unlock the door and entered her cell. 

“W-What are you going to do to me?”

“Maybe this will put you out of your misery for a while,” he said as he pulled out a small bottle from the pocket in his trousers, opened it, there was a green cloud and then her world turned black.

* * *

11:15 AM

David’s House, mainland Corona

David picked up a dead sunflower and tossed it into the fire, he watched as the flames gobbled it up within minutes he had thought back of his time in Terapi island, how he thought the universe sometimes heard your heart's desire and decides to give you a second chance.

“What a load of rubbish that was, I should have known better that was just fairytale talk like faith, trust and pixie dust… What was I even thinking?” He muttered and facepalmed. “If Cassandra goes there won’t be any way of bringing her back, there is no way we can start over… I mustn’t let them down now… mustn’t let them see me cry, I’m fine… Just fine.” He closed his eyes and turned away from the fire for a moment, he didn’t know how much more of this madness he could take, he was not the same man he was before. He was no longer the strong soldier he was not so long ago, he did not walk tall or showed pride in himself anymore, he did not think there was anything for him to feel proud of, he felt like such a loser. It pained him to think of the things people had said either to his face or literally behind his back but since he had his hood up they didn’t realise he was even there before he would not have cared but it had hurt a lot.

“Unbelievable! Unbelievable!” He once heard Crowley say as he passed by her earlier. “I thought David would have raised his daughter better than that.”

“Come on Crowley, the poor chap has lost his mind since she had gone off on one, that’s why he was let go of… He was no longer fit to guard the Princess’ tiara let alone the Royals themselves,” an elderly man said.

“I’m not surprised he had gone mad with all that witchcraft she had been doing!” A younger man piped up.

“That was not witchcraft you fool! By that logic, the Princess would be a witch to! It’s just magic!” Another stranger shouted out.

“My nana said it was because the King had uprooted the Sundrop flower that the rocks had come up,” a young boy said. 

“Maybe she’s right, we never had this problem before… My friend in Old Corona said the rocks first appeared in the spot where the flower was,” the younger man said. 

“She was going to kill the Princess, the King and Queen and take over Corona!” A middle-aged woman shouted.

“Ah come on, that’s just a stupid rumour, she didn’t want to overthrow the Kingdom!” The younger man said.

“Don’t you remember what she said when she ruined the Goodwill Festival? Corona falls today!” The woman raised her voice as she did her impression of Cassandra.

“I wasn’t there, I don’t do all that sappy stuff!”

Most of the conversations the people had gone like that and he was shocked by some of the things he had heard, he had no idea about her attack during the Goodwill Festival or kidnapping Varian, she had really stooped very low. He couldn’t believe that small, vulnerable, sweet little girl could have taken such a drastic turn when she had grown up. She had some misplaced anger for the way her birth mother had dumped her for another child, one who could give her something that she could never do, keep her young and alive for another eighteen years. He still was not convinced, he could not figure it out but there was something wrong but what could he do to sort it out? 

David put a hand over his forehead and sighed. “What am I going to do?”

* * *

**Old Corona**

_11:30 AM_

“I suppose this place brings back some memories,” George said as he and Pete got to work on the orphanage helping fix the walls that had been damaged and fill in the holes left behind from the rocks.

“Yeah... For years I waited for the day my dad would come back for me like he promised,” Pete sighed as he looked through the window where he used to sit for hours every day. His mind flashed back to it as he had seen himself as a little boy sitting on the windowsill. 

* * *

“What are you doing Peter? Don’t you want to play with some of the other boys?” A woman asked as she stood behind him.

Pete shook his head. “I’m waiting.”

“For what?”

He turned his head and looked at her. “M-My, dad… H-He said he would come back for me when he’s ready.”

The woman gasped as she put a hand over her mouth then on his shoulder. “Oh, Peter… Your father is not going to come back, he’s gone.”

This led onto the night he had dropped him off at the orphanage.

“I’m sorry Peter, I can’t keep you right now, I’ll come back for you someday... I promise,” his dad said as he knelt in front of him at the entrance of the small orphanage. He looked quite similar to him, lanky body build but more skinny almost to an unhealthy level, he had the same oval-shaped face, flat nose, a few freckles under his blue eyes and dark brown hair that was a bit messy.

“What? Dad, no!” Pete cried, tears welled up in his eyes, he had just lost his mom, he did not want to be separated from his dad to so he had tried to after him.“Dad! Don’t leave me here!” 

He didn’t get a chance to get close to him as one of the workers had picked him up from the ground, though it was difficult as he struggled to get out of her grasp.

“Get off me! Get off!” He cried as he tried to escape her grasp, it was no use she was too strong, he reached his hand out as he watched his dad walked further away.

“Dad! Come back!”

* * *

“He never fulfilled his promise did he?” George asked.

“No, showed how much he cared!” Pete hissed as he turned away from the window, picked up the roller and started plastering the wall. “He got rid of me the first chance he got then left Corona to start a new life, probably got with another woman, had another son and had completely forgotten about me!”

George sighed as he put a hand on his arm. “I’m sorry that happened to you Peter, sometimes the most painful memories are the hardest to move on from, my father walked out on me to when I was a young lad… If only he could see me now eh?” He put his arms up to show off his big muscles.

“Huh-uh,” Pete muttered as he failed to see how that was meant to make him feel better, he had shaken his head and resumed back to work on the wall, he told himself not to start crying like he often did when he thought about that night. This was not the time or place for that, he couldn’t have people seeing him being so weak, he was a grown man, not a little boy, he had to keep it together. 

“I feel for you Peter, no one seems to care about you, they say it’s just Pete, the village idiot,” George said.

Pete paused for a moment. “Is that really what people have been saying about me?” 

“Mostly the guys but also some of the people have been quite harsh about you… That you’re useless and just stupid, some of the guys have also been saying it was your fault we lost the Sundrop and the Queen was kidnapped as you had blabbed to Varian,” George said.

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of it that way… It wasn’t just me though… A few people had gotten it, we probably would have been able to stop him from taking the Queen if it weren’t for that giant raccoon attacking us,” Pete said. “You don’t think that… Was my fault do you?”

“Maybe if he hadn’t of gotten that stupid flower the idea of kidnapping the Queen wouldn’t have crossed his mind but it’s ok… I know you didn’t mean for any of that to happen, he had tricked you putting some kind of potion in the cookie, word of advice don’t take anything from strangers or eat food that’s not in its natural colour,” George replied. “Yes, there is room for improvement but you’ll get the hang of this whole guard thing… Eventually.”

He looked down at Pete as he sighed, just as he had expected he had become disheartened. 

“You have always felt little, haven’t you? Insecure about your body image and how others see you,” George asked. “That’s what the whole moustache thing was about wasn’t it?” 

“That was like… ten years ago, I’m not like that anymore,” Pete replied as he tried to focus on the wall like he had done with the sword. 

“Doesn’t look like much has changed since then, going round in circles… You need some serious help,” George said.

“There isn’t anyone who can help me… No one understands or cares, you said so yourself people just think I’m an idiot,” Pete sighed as he dipped the brush back into the tin. “They’re probably right… I screw up on even the most simple jobs… I don’t know why Dave passed me, guess he just felt sorry for me and thought I would improve in time. Ten years later and I haven’t gotten any better, hopefully, get this done without breaking something.” 

George sighed and put an arm around his shoulder. “Hey, it will be alright… Would you like to hang out with me and some of the guys later?” 

“Okay, it’s not like I have anything else to do,” Pete replied.

Varian glared at the older man, he did not know what it was but something was just off about him, he had a sneaky feeling that he was up to something, he knew Pete was an easy target as he did not appear to be very bright or streetwise like Eugene. Ordinarily, he would not have cared about him but after overhearing their conversation and how low he had gotten on himself, a part of him did get concerned about him being taken for a ride. He used his alchemy water bombs to clean up the floor and other surfaces, he kept it subtle but kept a close watch on the older guard as he tossed another blue ball at the floor he had caught George glaring at him.

“You better not start pulling any funny tricks kid!”

“It’s just for cleaning, chill!” Varian retorted. “I could say the same thing about you, I don’t think Captain Eugene would be very happy about you playing funny tricks with your co-worker’s mind.”

George fumed, he had heard everything and was about to blow it, he opened his mouth to speak but Pete had beaten him to it.

“Butt out Varian! Unlike the others, he actually cares about my feelings!”

Varian arched an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. “You sure about that? You know just because people ask you things it doesn’t always mean that they really care.” 

Pete paused for a moment then stormed out.

“Now look what you did as if he isn’t going through enough already,” George said with a growl and continued to stare him down. 

Varian glared as he followed Pete out, he made a note to himself to tell Eugene to keep an eye on him, there was a new demon amongst them, one possibly just as bad as Zhan Tiri herself. A while ago he had heard the news that Cassandra had been arrested, His Highness had her thrown in the dungeons after saying he would let her go… Apparently she had attacked a guard but he did not believe that for one minute, unlike his neighbours, she had no reason to attack anyone nor the strength. He along with others had seen the exhaustion on her face at the end of the battle, she had died then was resurrected for goodness sake! He couldn’t help but think there was something fishy about it. He had faith in Cassandra, even though she was likely in an awful state she would gain some strength and pull through like the warrior he knows she is.


	12. Crossing More Lines

**12:20 PM**

_Second Floor of the Castle_

Stan sighed again as he walked down to the servants quarters, he had lost count of how many times he had done that, he was just so fed up with the way things were going and tired, he still had trouble getting enough shut-eye himself. He was relieved that he could finally take a break and have some quiche.

“Stan there’s something-“

Stan groaned even before Joe finished that sentence he knew what he was talking about Cassandra again, he hoped this was not going to be an everyday thing until her trial, for her sake. “What is it now Joe?”

“Dan and Rob had just been in to take Cassandra for her lunch but they can’t get her to wake up, she has somehow fallen unconscious!”

“Fallen? More like knocked out! She had completely broken down this morning, they did a lot more than they were supposed to!” Stan shouted. “I didn’t ask because she did not look ready to talk about it… No matter how difficult handling the prisoner is, you never kick or hit them, I’ve been a guard for thirteen years I know full well to never cross those lines so should they!”

“Oh, yet throwing a kid in the snow is fine with you?” John asked.

Stan shot a glare at him and charged down the corridor, he did not have time to argue, he had to see Cassandra.

It was quiet which may have seemed like a good sign but as he looked around he noticed that all of the prisoners were fast asleep, some weren’t even on their bed just passed out on the floor, he had a sinking feeling that something shady had just happened so when he came to Cassandra’s cell he was worried. Unlike earlier, she also appeared to be peacefully sleeping as she laid on her side then noticed that the cuff was gone though that hadn’t done a lot to ease his concerns, he unlocked the door and kneeled at her bedside, she was very pale, last time he had seen her she had at least a little color in her cheeks and it was far too early for her to be sleeping. 

“Cassandra, hey… Are you okay?” He asked in a soft voice so not to shock her, he didn’t see any sign of her waking up, she did not stir or flutter her lashes, she stayed asleep. He tried nudging her but there was still nothing.

“Cassandra!” He said in a slightly raised voice, this was not normal for her if she was a heavy sleeper the clanging sound of armor wouldn’t have kept her from drifting off the time he and Pete guarded her room. “Cassandra!”

He felt her wrist and breathed a sigh of relief that she still had a pulse, for a moment he thought she was dying again.

“What’s going on?”

He remained on the floor as he held her wrist, he was glad the Captain came, saved some time from looking for him.

“I don’t know… She won’t wake up!” Stan exclaimed.

At that moment Eugene’s heart dropped as he dropped onto one knee and tried to examine Cassandra himself, she was out cold, he had no idea what to do.

“I think we should get Varian to have a look at her, unlike the doctors around here he knows about potions… He will be able to tell if she had been knocked out that way.”

“How?” Stan asked.

“I hope she will wake up by the time he gets here… I’ve been planning on talking to him again today anyway, for signs that someone is on the mood potion, Rapunzel thinks someone has sneaked in quite a bit into her father’s morning tea... I also suspect Pete has been used in this wicked scheme to, he isn’t very streetwiseso it would be quite easy for someone to trick him into drinking or eating it,” Eugene said.

Both sighed as they watched her, they just hoped there was something the young alchemist could do to help her with and it was not something that would seriously hurt her.

Stan was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed her breathing had worsened.

“Oh no… Captain, she’s getting worse!”

Eugene nodded. “You stay and watch over Cass, Stan! I’ll grab Max and head over to Old Corona!”

* * *

**01:30 PM**

_Old Corona_

Varian yawned as he walked out of the orphanage, he was so tired, alongside the experiments he had cleaned up the streets of the village, some shops and then the orphanage. He looked around for George and Pete but did not see them, he did not think they made a good combination, he just knew he was up to something and was stringing Pete along because he guessed he was the only one he could do that with, the others were tough or at least seen the red flags. He wasn’t sure if being a guard was the right kind of job for Pete, there was something that made him the way he was, though it was the 1800s so unlikely there would ever be an answer as to what it was. He thought that having at least some street wisdom or emotional maturity was a requirement but then what else could he do? Was there anything he was good at? There weren’t a lot of jobs to go around, many people preferred to work alone like Monty used to or Felspar, one of the many problems with ‘The Sunshine Kingdom.’

Varian shrugged, it wasn’t his problem although he never thought he would find himself wondering where Stan was, they were always together. They had the close kind of bond he had never seen with any of the other guards although he had never got to know many of them, it seemed unlikely from personal experience but he hoped Pete got the help he needed from someone who knew what they were doing and could give him the right advice. He paused as he thought of how he had felt when everyone had turned their back on him when he needed their help the most, the time his dad had gotten stuck in the amber but another part argued that he had chucked him out into the blizzard without any care for his safety so why should he worry about his? 

Ruddiger appeared beside him, he looked up at him with a sad look in his eyes as though to say. “He is in danger… He is going to get hurt.”

“That’s not my problem, I’m not getting involved Ruddiger, I’ve got enough to deal with right now!” Varian exclaimed. “He’s like thirty-five, he should be able to sort out his issues!”

Ruddiger pulled his trouser leg and pointed at the corner, where he was alone in the shadows, he didn’t recognise him as he had his head leant against his knees. If he hadn’t known him before he wouldn’t have believed he was a Royal Guard. Varian was surprised to see his dad go to him first he was just about to turn round when Ruddiger pulled at his trousers again.

“Okay fine… I’ll try and help him.”

“Hey, what’s wrong? Belle said you had looked upset when you left the orphanage,” Quirin said. “Did something happen?”

Pete remained silent, he didn’t want to talk to anyone.

Varian sighed as he approached them.“Come on Pete, I’m sorry I came across… Harsh to you before but that guy is not helping you, he doesn’t seem that bothered about you now, does he? Just left you crying over here in the corner.”

“I-I don’t know what’s wrong with me… One minute I’m fine then I’m angry then sad and a few minutes later I’m angry again!” Pete cried as he leaned his forehead against his knees, he was unable to hold back the tears and it was all he could do to hide them. He was already embarrassed to have Quirin and Varian fussing over him, it would make him more bashful for him to be crying in front of someone as young as him, he thought he was a grown man for goodness sake, he should not be like this.

Varian sighed, he had never known a potion that put someone in this kind of state but then again people could get emotional without the use of potions. “That’s what happens when people play mind games with you although they may make you feel happy at first they can then use personal information to reopen old wounds… It’s one way they can take advantage of you, I get the impression that George is doing that to you, this is the kind of thing Zhan Tiri did to Cassandra and you know what happened after that.”He never thought he would see the guy he had always thought of as the goofy guard look so scared and miserable at the same time.

“Just leave me alone… You wouldn’t get it, kid,” Pete muttered.

Varian sighed again, he knew he was going to push him away and not listen to anything he had to say, just like before he couldn’t help someone if they weren’t willing to work with him.

“Varian!” 

Both Varian and Quirin jumped at the sound of Eugene’s voice, they turned and seen him on Max, he looked down at them with an alarmed and worried look on his face.

“We need your help… Something is wrong with Cass, she won’t wake up!”

Varian’s blue eyes widened in shock and his mind went blank, he had no idea how to help with that!

“He’s not to go anywhere near that woman!” Quirin growled as he grabbed his son protectively by the arm.

“Dad! She’s not like that anymore and her life could be in danger right now! How can she possibly hurt me when she is unconscious?” Varian shouted as he had tried to break out of his grip.

“I can assure you, Quirin, Cassandra is no longer a threat, Stan and I will be there so he will be safe from any harm,” Eugene said.

Reluctantly, Quirin released his son and watched as he went up to the new Captain.“Okay, fine… I know security has been lacking these past few years so be careful Varian, there are some very dangerous people in the dungeons.” 

Varian nodded then turned his attention back to Eugene. “I’ll need to pick up some supplies from my lab to figure out what has caused Cassie to sleep this much and how to wake her up,” Varian said.

Eugene nodded and watched as he dashed up the road, he hoped he was able to figure something out.

“What’s going on?” Quirin asked as he approached him.

Eugene sighed as he shook his head. “Good question, I’ve been asking myself that since last week… Just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse but once I find out who had done this to Cass they are going to be in so much trouble! I don’t like the way some of the men have been treating her,” he looked at the corner where Quirin was and noticed a man hunched up, he had gotten off Max and approached him.

“Hey, are you okay?”

He didn’t respond just lifted his head and looked back at him, Eugene’s eyes widened in surprise when he realized the figure was Pete, he had gotten up and darted off like a startled cat.

“He hasn’t been doing very well… I guess that’s why he’s been off work this week,” Quirin said.

Eugene sighed as he returned to Max’s side, he looked tempted to chase him but he had put him off, they did not have time for that. “I suspect someone may have slipped him the mood potion, he has been acting out of character lately.”

“Mood potion?” Quirin said as he arched a brow.

“It makes people act weird,” Eugene replied and breathed a sigh of relief when he had seen Varian. “Keep an eye on him and if anything happens let me know.”

Quirin nodded, he still did not understand what was going on but trusted the new Captain enough to know he would do his best to get everyone through it. He supposed he was a bit rash when he went into Papa Bear mode before but when he had heard how she had kidnapped him and made him drink some kind of potion to trick him into telling her the last incantation. She had also stolen the Mind Trap to put him and the other members of the Brotherhood under her control but he had to admit his son was no angel either, he had taken the Sundrop flower and a bunch of other things. Varian had already forgiven her and wanted to help with whatever problem she had, he guessed he ought to give her a chance.

“Don’t worry Captain, I’ll take good care of him… Good luck with Cassandra.”

Eugene jumped slightly and turned around to see George, like Varian he eyed him suspiciously, he thought it was odd how he had volunteered to help the Old Coronans instead of “assisting” Cassandra. “Are you sure about that? Caring for people doesn’t seem like a skill you excel at Cobra Man.”

George glared as he went off on Max and Varian followed beside him then turned and started his search for Pete. It didn’t take too long to find him as he spotted him seated on the riverside.

“There you are, I’ve been looking everywhere for you, sorry about what happened back there… What we talk about is none of his business,” he said as he approached him.

Pete didn’t speak, he bowed his head and covered his eyes, he knew if he looked, he would know he had been crying, many times he had been told to “man up.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll leave you be, it’s no wonder you’re so upset with people pushing you around or messing with you… It’s good that you are finally standing up for yourself,” George said. He rummaged through his bag and passed him a hip flask. “Here’s your water.”

“Thanks,” Pete replied and taken a swig, though little did he know that what he had just drunk was not water, he had almost dropped it as his blood boiled up again and stared at the other side of the river with a cold, icy glare.

George smirked as he observed the change in his facial expression, it seemed to have worked… All he had to do was wind him up a little more and add in a few extra things to make it stronger, the potion was ready for the big day.

* * *

**02:00 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra laid motionless on her bed in a deep sleep, in her head she was in the sea, she tried to remember how to swim but the waves were too rough.

“Cassandra!” She heard her father’s voice cry out to her as he rushed in to save her despite the risk to his safety.

“D-Dad… Stay,” Cassandra cried as she tried to keep her head above water. “Back… I-It’s too… D-Dangerous!”

She groaned as he carried on with his attempt to rescue her, he either was unable to hear her or did not listen when he really should have. She tried to swim towards him, pushing herself through the aggressive waves but quickly lost sight of him, her heart sunk as she feared the worst.

“Dad! Dad!” Cassandra shouted as she looked around frantically around her, felt something grab her leg, she kicked as hard as she could but it wouldn’t let her go and it dragged her further down into the water. Usually, she would bolt up in fright at this point but she was unable to no matter how many times her brain sent the message to her arms to lift her but they didn’t budge, it couldn’t even get her eyes to simply open either. She could not hear anyone, not even the pair of dummies opposite her, was it really this quiet or was she out cold?

Stan stayed by Cassandra’s side like a loyal dog, he had a fearful look on his face as he watched her and kept track of her breathing, it had become quite shallow, he had wondered if someone had put poison in the gruel, it wouldn’t have surprised him. Those four were after her blood but why would they go ahead and kill her before the trial? None of the death penalties included poisoning… Not yet anyway. He shook his head, maybe his imagination was getting ahead of him, she could just be unconscious.

“Any luck?” Joe asked.

“Nope… She hasn’t had any luck in a long time,” Stan replied, she had somewhat reminded him of the Snow White character like her she was light-skinned and had raven hair, she had suddenly gone out cold after eating something dodgy and appeared to be dead but then her crush conveniently turned up and made her better with “true loves kiss.” They lived in a place that was like a typical fairytale world but even he knew it was not going to be that simple, she didn't even have a crush, he just hoped Varian was able to figure something out and heal her before it was too late. He sighed and had taken her hand again, she was so cold, that was worrying him even more! He wasn’t sure if she could hear him or not but thought it was worth a try. “Cassandra… You’re going to be okay, just keep holding on… Eugene has gone to fetch Varian… If he can’t work it out then maybe we could ask Xavier and if he can’t-“ His voice trailed off as he failed to think of another person who worked with potions. “Just keep holding on… We’ll fix this.”

“Something smells fishy,” Joseph said.

“Yeah, not every day all the prisoners get knocked out like this,” Stan replied with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. “We know that… Did you see any of the other guys come in after I left?”

Joseph shrugged. “I left the same time as you, he could have gotten in through the other end… If she wakes up maybe she could tell us what happened.”

Stan bowed his head, if only he had stayed just a little longer than maybe this wouldn’t have happened, he thought he should have asked what happened instead of giving her a bit of help and then rushed off back to the throne room which was empty anyway.

“You were supposed to be watching her! Why did you leave? Why had Dan and John just leave her instead of going to the Captain when they realized something was wrong?”

“What’s wrong with Cass?”

He jumped at the sound of that voice, she had snuck into the dungeons again.

“Princess!” He gasped as he looked through the door and seen her there beside Joseph, she looked terrified. “I-I don’t know… Apparently, they had just found her in this state, I was told it was just Cassandra, the guys had come to give her lunch and realized they couldn’t wake her up no matter how much they tried and Joe came to me… As if I could do anything!”

“Oh no, Cass!” Rapunzel cried as she ran into the cell and seated herself on the edge of her bed and touched her hand. “Oh my gosh, she’s cold as ice! How could this have happened?”

Stan sighed. “Your guess is as good as mine… I think it's likely to be some kind of potion one stronger than what Varian had put on your mother, she was up within half an hour, right? It’s already been two hours I think… She’s still out of it.”

“You know about potions?” Rapunzel asked.

Stan shook his head. “Not much… Just trying to make some sense of it, I’ve known Cass since she was about Varian’s age… I had promised her dad I would take care of her and I had failed as per usual.”

Rapunzel put a hand on his shoulder and looked into his dark brown eyes.

“You haven’t failed… You’re caring for her right now and somehow we will make her better and all the other prisoners, clearly whoever did this wanted to stop her from getting to a trial… Also wanted to get rid of all the other criminals to,” Rapunzel said. “Just one thing after another, is it ever peaceful here?”

Stan shook his head again. “I’ve been on the guard for thirteen years… There is never any peace here but someone is crossing the line right now.”   


Rapunzel's dark green eyes hardened and her lips had dropped into a deep frown as her fear was replaced with anger. "I hope she will remember what happened so she can tell us everything... When Eugene and I find out who is responsible for this there will be severe consequences." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh the net is closing in.  
> Who do you think was the one who set Cass up with the King?  
> George, Dan, John or Robert?


	13. Worst Nightmare

**Friday 02:30 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Stan yawned as he had grown tired himself, he had hardly slept for the past week, his worries about Cassandra, David and Pete kept disturbing him, he shook his head to snap himself out of it and looked back at her, she had the dark marks under her eyes for a while but what worried him more was her breathing which was why he held her hand to keep track of her pulse, it was slower than it should be but it looked like she could still hold on. He hoped was not right about his assumption that she had been poisoned. "Hang in there Cass, you're going to be okay... Just keep breathing... Fitzherbert and Varian are going to come as quickly as possible."

Cassandra thought it was strange to hear his voice and feel his hand on her's, why? She wasn't anything to him, she guessed he was a big softie even more than Pete was unlike most of the guards he was not a jobsworth. He did not follow the book as thoroughly as her dad or Max and he was a horse! She sometimes wondered how he had passed onto the guard, guess he had somehow passed the obstacle course without fainting. The other guys also thought it was weird to but unlike the other prisoners, he knew her quite well... He had seen her grow up from a teen to an adult, he had always been supportive of her accomplishing her goal get on the guard and even though it did not work out he was still there for her. He was the last person she ever thought would be supporting her, after everything she had done, he had even broken rules and disobeyed orders for her if he got caught and King Frederic was alerted he would lose his job, possibly get arrested himself.

"Stay with us Cass, we don't want to lose you again."

Cassandra found her mind trailing off again, as one of her nightmares replayed in her mind, she was trying to climb up the cliff, this time instead of a stampede of horses there was a flowing river beneath her, she was not used to rock climbing but was doing her best to keep her grip on the rocky surface but once she got to the top George appeared he cackled wickedly as he grabbed her hands. "Traitors to Corona pay with their lives!"

She gasped as she looked at him in fear, he reminded her so much of Andrew as that was very similar to the thing the Separatists say to discourage anyone from trying to escape from the cult, no matter the reason they would be hunt down and killed by him one way or another. She had seen Pete emerge from the shadows, he was not the same guy she had known all those years, he had a mean, cold look in his eyes as he stared back at her, this time there was black and red rocks that followed him. These nightmares just got more weird every day! She was desperate, she had hoped she would somehow have gotten through to him as she cried. "Pete help me please!"

"I had tried to warn you, Cassandra, you have to be careful who you trust!" He hissed and looked at her with the same expression she had when she had taken the moonstone. "We're all better off without you around ruining everything, we had almost died because of you and that demon... You don't deserve to live."

Before she had a chance to react, she had been thrown off the edge, she screamed as she crashed into the river, she had tried to avoid the waterfall and swim back to the surface but the water was too strong she found herself going under, suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her back, she had been shot with an arrow! This was it, she was doomed as within minutes she would be a goner, this reminded her of another nightmare she had where both she and her dad had drowned.

Again her brain tried desperately to get her to wake up but failed to get the message through to her eyes remained shut and her arms so her body remained frozen on the bed, she felt a sharp pain in her chest and she lost her train of thought as her heart slowed down more, was she going to die after all? Even before the trial? Was that thing that one of the guards had thrown at her toxic? Was he right? That everyone was better off without her in their world and their lives? Her poor heart had been through a lot lately, was it about to give up now? How much longer could it hold on for?

"Oh, no... Cassandra!" She heard Stan cry out.

"Stan, I think you should take a break... You don't look so good yourself, get some air, I'll look after Cassandra," Joe said as he entered her cell and put a hand on his shoulder, he had dark marks under his eyes and had seen him yawn a few times. "You missed lunch, you need to keep your strength up."

"I can't leave her! Captain told me to watch her, unlike some I follow his orders!" Stan shouted.

Joe sighed. "I'm sure he will understand that you need to go out for a bit for some air."

"No, Joe... Last time I left her someone attacked... I can't trust you to keep watch!" Stan snapped.

"I didn't have to stay in here all morning, just check every five minutes! I'm trying to help, you look like you're going to pass out yourself any minute!" Joe yelled.

"I'm fine Joe!" Stan shouted.

Joe had thrown his hands up in surrender and sighed. "Ok, ok, if you say so I'll leave you be."

Stan groaned as he facepalmed like David he did not know how much more of this madness he could take, it just seemed to get worse every day, he released his hold on her hand as he had broken down, Joe had stopped himself when he was about to leave and tried to comfort him. He thought it would only be a matter of time before he had cracked as not only he had Cassandra and David to worry about but also his best mate Pete since he had gone off the rails and there was a rumour going around the castle that he had gone mad, the poor guy was struggling to figure out a way to save him from himself.

"Hey, it's going to be okay, we'll get through this... Somehow," Joe said as he rubbed his hand gently on his shoulder. "When the Captain gets back, go outside for a bit and get some fresh air... You need a break now more than anyone, you look exhausted mate."

Stan didn't reply, he just stared at Cassandra, his pulse spiked as her's slowed down, that was one sign he knew that came from poisoning.

"How is she?"

Both Stan and Joe jumped at the sound of their Captain's voice but quickly calmed themselves down at least little bit as they turned and seen him and Varian beside them.

"Um... Not very good... Her breathing is slowing down," Stan said.

Eugene nodded, as he had taken another look at her and then back at him, he had seen Joe's point, he did not look well. "Thanks for watching her Stan, get yourself some water and fresh air for a bit, the last thing we need is for you to go down to."

Stan sighed as he got up and walked out of the dungeons, he hoped whatever Varian did would work, it was too soon for her to die... Again. 

"Look after him Joe, I'll watch these two," Eugene said.

"Yes Sir, hopefully, she will pull through," Joe replied as he had taken one last look at her then left through the nearest exit.

Varian gasped as he had rushed to her side, he had almost dropped his bag in shock, he held her wrist and concentrated hard to make out a pulse for a moment he feared he would not find one then he found it which relieved him but the faint feel of it worried him immensely, he rummaged through his bag pulling out different chemicals and glasses. "Okay, her pulse is going down, her breathing has become shallow... She has a rash here... It looks like she may be allergic to whatever was in that potion... We need to act quickly or we will lose her again!"  
"Do you think that this potion could be toxic?" Eugene asked.

"I'm not sure... I hope not... I guess I could try this," Varian said as he pulled out a flacon with a clear liquid. "If it's anything like what I had given the Queen this might just work." He had taken a deep breath as he pulled the cork and poured it into the bowl Eugene had given him then gently pulled her lower jaw down and carefully poured it into her mouth. "Please work."

They waited with bated breath for a few minutes.

Nothing.

Varian facepalmed as he wracked his brain to figure out which of his pick and mix of chemicals would awaken her, Eugene noticed his leg shake rapidly and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Varian, calm down... It's going to be ok, what else have you got?"  
  
Varian ran a hand through his raven hair and taken another look in his bag, he had a sinking feeling that the potion may just be toxic like he had feared, fortunately, he had some antidotes which he had made earlier as he taught himself how to do them just in case someone did do that. "Hopefully, one of these will wake her up... If not we may need to call for an expert." He sighed as he became scared, although he had a very good knowledge of potions there was still a lot left for him to learn unlike some believed he did not have all the answers to these kinds of problems, he might need help himself like the amber incident he felt out of his depth. Figuring out what kind of potion she had been put on was going to be a challenge itself then there is finding out who had thrown it at her and the other prisoners. He had taken another deep breath and pulled the cork from the second falcon and poured it into the bowl, this one had a dark red colour, kind of like wine he tried hard not to shake too much as he slipped it through her mouth. Both watched for any signs of her arousing awake like a stir, eyes fluttering or mumbling for a few minutes but much to their dismay neither heard a peep from her.  
"W-What if it's incurable Eugene... What if she dies before I work out a cure?" Varian panicked.  
"Hey, hey... That's not going to happen, we still have time to figure it out," Eugene said as he rubbed his shoulder. "We won't lose her again, we will find a way to cure her."  
"Are you sure about that? Her pulse is slowing down it could get worse if I don't wake her up quickly... It's no good telling her to just hold on, this is out of her control!" Varian cried and broken down into tears. "I'm scared Eugene, I-I-I've never done this before! I had almost lost my dad, I'm scared we will lose her again!"

"Shh, shh, shh, it's okay, just try to keep calm... We'll figure it out, we will save her," Eugene said as he had hugged him and gently rubbed his back. "Somehow."

  
  
**3:00 PM**  
 _Throne Room Entrance_   
  
  
Stan had a bit of a break then returned to the corridor he was in earlier, stood at the door of the throne room, he had tried to clear his mind from all the stuff with Cass and Pete but it always sneaked back in. His tiredness was visible and felt a headache coming on but all that had to be put aside, he shook his head to try and snap himself out of it. 

“Do you know what’s going on with Pete? He just seemed to have lost the plot,” Will asked as he and some of the other guys passed through. 

Matt shrugged, he was not much of a talker and tended to keep out of any drama. 

“He’s gone completely nuts, he’s become addicted to some kind of potion and he’s been drinking, that’s why he has been so aggressive lately,” Dan said. 

“Really?” William asked. 

“Yeah, he was completely off his face last time he was here, he started a fight with Stan in front of the prisoners and talked back to the Captain!” 

“Seriously? Doesn’t he know he can get fired for that?” William asked. 

“Doesn’t seem to care anymore, the old Captain would have fired him on the spot but Fitzherbert had just put him on the sick for the rest of the week… For his sake, I hope he cleaned up his act!” Dan said. “Fitzherbert is a joke, the whole guard is falling apart and he’s fussing over Cassandra if we were to be attacked today we would be screwed!” 

Stan sighed as he watched them leave, it was what he had feared, someone had tricked him into drinking a mood potion and a very strong one at that, he hoped he would be in a better frame of mind when he returned but sadly it seemed like it was not going to be that simple. 

“Hello, Stanley.” 

He jumped at the sound of the Queen’s voice, where did she spring from? 

“Good afternoon, Your Majesty, how are you?” 

Arianna sighed as she stood beside him. “Rapunzel has told me about what happened to Cassandra, how is she holding up?” 

Stan sighed as he bowed his head. “Not so well, her pulse had gone down… Varian is going to try and make a cure for it… Hopefully, he will succeed… How is the King doing? Have you talked to someone about his so-called medicine?” 

Arianna nodded and sighed. “I have just managed to find it, Rapunzel said she knows someone who can look at it for us, she thinks it’s the mood potion that has been making him so angry lately.” 

“Yeah, that seems to be going around again… My friend has gone rogue, it looks a lot worse than it was the last time,”Stan said. 

Arianna’s eyes softened as she looked back at him. “I have heard about that from Rapunzel, it’s very scary what is going on with our men… I am sorry that you have gotten caught up in this mess, take care of yourself, you’re doing a great job supporting everyone! You look like you have the whole world on your shoulders.” 

Normally Stan would smile at the Queen, touched by her kind words but he could not believe her as he thought of how many times he had messed up on the job, wondered if George was right that he was not fit to be a guard. 

“Hey, are you okay?” Arianna asked. 

Stan nodded. “Yes, Your Highness… Just a bit blue but I’ll be alright, I hope His Highness gets better soon.” 

Arianna nodded, she was not entirely convinced that he was okay but thought it may be best for Eugene to deal with and she had to get going herself. “You look very tired and stressed like Rapunzel was when she came back from that trip… Reading is great for some escapism, helped me cope with my anxiety while she was missing.” 

“Thank you, Your Majesty but I can’t read very well… I get some of the letters mixed up, I have difficulty following instructions written down, I don’t know why but it’s always been like that,” Stan said. 

“Maybe there’s someone who could help, reading is a very important skill to have even for a strong soldier… Keep up the good work and soon this nightmare will be over,” Arianna said. 

“Yes, Your Highness,” Stan replied. “I’ll try to let you know how Cassandra does later.” 

Arianna nodded and put on a little smile, she was concerned about the welfare of the guards after the Final Battle they were really out of their depth back there, she understood that some of them would still be in shock or upset she hoped Stan would feel better soon, he was not himself either. She walked down the corridor and went up the stairs, she had to be quick to get it to Rapunzel before he realised it was gone, a part of her hoped that it was the mood potion and that he was not turning into his father. 

** 03:30 PM  **

_ Castle Dungeons  _

Varian wiped his eyes and taken some time to just breathe to stop himself from panicking, he hoped at least one of these would work, he pulled out the orange coloured one and poured it into her but sadly that had failed to then there was the pink coloured one, that failed to.  
"Damn it! What the hell did this guy give her?" He yelled as that one was supposed to be for common poisons, that had given him one clue that what she was on was an unusual type of potion like the truth serum, perhaps it had been a modified version of one. He pulled out his book on potions and skipped ahead to chapter ten on where Professor Woodlock talked about potions to do with putting someone into such a deep slumber nothing could seem to awake them, he came across one that rang a bell.  
"Ah, I think I know what we might be dealing with now."  
"What?" Eugene asked as he peered over his shoulder and skim-read the page, he gulped as it sounded gruesome.  
Varian nodded and breathed a sigh of relief now that he had a clear idea on how to treat it, he was tempted to facepalm himself again as he thought reading should have been the first thing he had done. "Draught of Sleeping Death which is also known as the Sleeping Beauty potion as like in the story it puts a person into a very deep sleep and is very difficult to wake them up, some elements are taken from a common sleeping potion that helps people with insomnia which is how it gets them to fall asleep instantly, the trouble with this draught is it slows down their pulse gradually so if she is not cured within say three days... She will die."  
"Oh, so you only have seventy-two hours to cure her and the other prisoners... Wow, it's worse than I thought so it is poisonous?" Eugene asked.  
"Well, it is one of the most dangerous potions there is," Varian said. "We will have to act quickly.”  
Eugene raised a brow, that was not what he had expected. "What is in this Sleeping Death potion?"

Varian sighed as he turned back to the book. "Wormwood, powdered root of asphodel, a bit of poison of course and Valerian sprigs also the kind of stuff in the sleeping potion... Now I just have to work out a cure for it."  
"You mean there isn't already one for it?"  
Varian had shaken his head sadly. "Nope, no one has worked out an effective cure for the Draught of Sleeping Death."   
Eugene breathed a heavy sigh as he leaned against the wall. "Oh mama, this is going to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be."  
Varian sighed as he closed the book. "I think you should see her dad sometime Eugene…. Just to give him a head's up so he can prepare if it does come to... The worst."  
Eugene nodded, it was not going to be hard, if he started crying he would likely do so as well it pained him, even more, to see her like this than when she was in a panic after her first nightmare. "I will."

** 04:00 PM  **

_ David’s House  _

A book laid open halfway, it was on his favourite animal which was horses, there was a beautiful illustration of a horse that looked much like Max, he remembered how it helped the Queen cope so thought he ought to try it himself but since he did not rest up through the night his brain had made him fall asleep, hoping he would at long last get enough rest without any more dark nightmares. He was on his own with little Cassandra far out from the hustle and bustle of the city, where Arianna was going to watch the meteor shower with Rapunzel, they sat on the ground together. 

“I used to do this a lot with my grandfather… He loved stars, my dad wasn’t so keen on them, I used to come out here with him and just look up at them,” David chuckled under his breath as he thought back on those days. 

“Dad,” Cassandra said. 

“Yes?” David said as he glanced down at her. 

“We’ll always be together won’t we?” Cassandra asked as she looked up at him with those big grey eyes. 

David sighed, he couldn’t promise that the poor girl had just lost her mother and home in one night, she feared she would lose him to, he tried to think of a way that he could put it gently and in a way, she could understand. 

“My grandfather once told me that loved ones you have lost watch down on you from those stars.”

“Really?” Cassandra asked. 

“Yes so if you ever feel alone they will always be there to guide you and so will I,” he said in a soft voice. For a while they both sat in silence as they gazed up at the stars that scattered across the sky, this made his heart feel warm as it had given him the joy he had been longing for but sadly as per usual, it was short-lived as within minutes the scene changed. He was in the same place butLittle Cassandra had vanished, he had felt himself start to panic, where did she go? What just happened? 

“Cassandra! Cassandra!” He cried out as he searched behind the trees, up the hills, down at the ground below, there was no sign of her anywhere. “Cassandra!” 

He panted as he ran all over the grounds in a desperate search for her, he jumped when he heard the sound of a twig snapped, he turned hoping to see his little girl but instead seen Pete, what on earth was he doing there? 

“Cassandra’s not here,” he said as he emerged from the shadows, black and red rocks followed his trail what the heck was up with that? This wasn’t making any sense! He reminded him of Varian when he had gone “bad” as he had this heartless, cold, mean look in his grey eyes. 

“Pete? Why are you looking at me like that?” 

He did not know him very well but he knew for certain that evil was not in his nature, the closer he got he realised that he was in some kind of trance. He didn’t even know what he was doing!

“Pete, come on snap out of it!”He shouted as he tried snapping his fingers in his face but it did not work, he couldn’t understand what was happening, he gasped as he had seen his former colleague pull out his sword. 

“Cassandra will be gone and soon so will you!” Within seconds he struck with the sword aimed straight for his stomach. 

At that moment David snapped awake and panted heavily as his heart rate spiked up, he put his hands over his face and groaned. 

“Why does this keep happening? Can’t I just have one day with nice dreams? Why was Pete attacking me? Is he going to attack me?” He had said out loud. He then shook his head and dismissed it. “No, Pete is harmless, he wouldn’t hurt anyone… He’s a nice guy… Then again that did not stop Zhan Tiri from bringing Cassandra into the darkness." He felt his heart sink as he dreaded to think what her fate was to be and remembered that he was not the same guy he had come to know over the years. Was it possible that his worst nightmare could come true? That both he and his daughter would be killed?


	14. Past Mistakes

**Saturday 11:00 AM**

_Castle Dungeons_

“Please work, please work!” Varian said under his breath as he poured his new healing potion, he had been up all night trying to produce an effective cure. He sat back and watched for any movement from her hands or her eyes but she had not moved a muscle.

“Maybe, it just needs some more time to process,” Rapunzel said as she put a hand on his shoulder.

Varian groaned as he pinched his nose.

“We are running out of time Rapunzel! I have two days left to make a cure or she and the rest of the prisoners will die! I’ve got lives resting in my hands!”

Rapunzel sighed as she rubbed his arm gently. “I know, I know… It’s a shame we don’t have the Sundrop anymore, that would have helped.”

“No, it wouldn’t… That stupid flower is more trouble than its worth, if your dad hadn’t been so reckless and had his dogs go fetch it none of this would have happened but no he says it’s all Cassandra’s fault!” Varian shouted.

“Varian, please calm down,” Rapunzel pleaded.

Varian had taken a deep breath as he leaned his head against his hand. “Okay, okay… Sorry, Princess, I didn’t mean to snap at you, I’m just really frustrated right now.”

“I know… This has been very stressful for all of us but we will get through this if we work together,” Rapunzel said as she held his hand.

Varian had taken a deep breath and nodded, a part of him was glad he had the Princess there to reassure him and calm him when he panicked.“Thanks, Rapunzel, you’re right… I have to be careful I don’t overwhelm her body with different potions as that would make her worse… I guess we should wait a bit longer for it to properly kick in.”

Rapunzel nodded as she held her hand and hummed softly, whether she could hear them or not she was unsure but thought it would be a nice way to comfort her along with some quiet singing. “There’s a lagoon that has been long forgotten but is flowing with many memories, sleep my darling, you are safe and sound, for in the lost lagoon all is found. The lost lagoon deep and true, you will find the answers and your path, swim along to her sound but be careful or you will fall under. A lagoon that has been long forgotten, she sings to those close enough to hear, as she plays magic flows but how can you face your fears? Can you see what she sees? There’s a father with many memories, come, my love, homebound, when you are lost, you will be found.”She sighed as she brushed her hair back and gently stroked her cheek, she was still cold. “You’ll be okay Cass, we’re all here for you.”

Usually, Cassandra would not have liked to have been sung to by the Princess like she was a baby but she found herself enjoying hearing it, she would have smiled at the reference to their discovery of the Lost Lagoon. The time they had begun to bond as friends as she taught her how to swim and even though things had gone wrong along the way she had stuck by her. When she returned to the castle she was welcomed by everyone who before was worried about her safety once they realised she was gone. How she wished she could go back to those days, to start over again with Rapunzel and her father, avoid the mistakes she had made in the past. She wished this potion would just wear off already so she could wake up and talk to her but this was not the type of potion that had faded in time. After every passing hour, she felt herself become weaker, she hoped she would make it to Monday, she knew it would break their hearts if they failed to save her life. 

* * *

**David’s House**

_11:30_

David was sat at the table as he went over the horse book for the umpteenth time, he did not take in any of the words, he was too tired to concentrate. The images of Cassandra’s corpse and brainwashed Pete coming at him with a sword kept on taunting him. He rubbed a hand over his face and groaned in frustration, people acted like this was all Cassandra’s fault yet if Frederic had not uprooted the Sunflower none of this madness would have started. Zhan Tiri would not have been freed, the rocks would not have appeared, his hands probably wouldn’t be so dirty with the blood of the people he had unnecessarily killed during the Princess' disappearance. He had been warned by Quirin not to touch the Sundrop as by removing the light he would encourage the darkness which was what had ruined the Dark Kingdom. He thought he should have seen it coming, Arianna was on the brink of death from childbirth, just like his mother so like Varian he had acted on impulse as he had sent him and some of the men after this mysterious flower. He thought it had all gone away after Rapunzel’s hair was cut the first time but was wrong, he then tried to cover it as like an ostrich he buried his head in the sand as the rocks had spread across the land. It wasn’t until people had shown their anger he had thrown his hands up and admitted he had messed up.

“Damn it, Frederic,” he muttered under his breath as he pinched his nose, not listening to warnings and acting out without thinking things through. Every time someone ended up getting hurt one way or another then it was up to him to clean up the mess.

Knock! Knock!

David jumped in fright at the sudden noise that snapped him out of his thoughts, he sighed as he brought himself up and was surprised to see Eugene and Max. Unlike the last time, he visited he had a saddened look on his face like he had some bad news to tell him.

“Hey, David… There’s something I need to tell you about Cassandra,” he said with a sigh.

David gulped then moved back to allow him in, he dreaded what he was going to say next, was she sick? Was she hurt? Dead?

“You might want to sit down for this David… It’s going to be a shock for you,” Eugene said.

David remained silent as he seated himself back down, he was lost for words and worried sick about what had become of his daughter.

Eugene had taken a deep breath as he seated himself opposite him, he clasped his hands together on the table and bowed his head for a moment then looked back at him.

“Someone has put Cassandra on the Draught of Sleeping Death… Varian is trying to create a cure for it which is proving to be more challenging than we expected as no one has succeeded before.”

As expected David was stunned, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly. “Sleeping Death? You mean someone has poisoned Cassandra?”

Eugene nodded. “Yes, this potion does have a little bit of poison in it and kills the victim slowly, I have come here to prepare you for… The worst.”

David frowned, he thought of what the Pete in his nightmare had said about how she would soon be gone… Was that what he meant? He gulped then turned his gaze back to Eugene. His expression then changed from shock to furious.

“Seriously? How could you have let this happen, Fitzherbert? Don’t tell me the men have gone down from it to!” He shouted and slammed his fist on the table. 

Eugene shook his head. “No, there are no witnesses as all of the other prisoners have also been affected by this potion, I guess he or she thought they could shoot two birds with one stone. Luckily none of the men has fallen… Although Stan has been looking under the weather lately, he had collapsed yesterday evening so maybe he had caught a bit of it… I’m not sure, hopefully, he will be well enough to return on Monday.”

David’s expression changed from anger to concern when he heard about him, it sounded like scary stuff. “Looks like someone hasn’t been doing dungeon duty properly! Theyshouldn’t have the time to get through the dungeon and spread this potion around!”

Eugene sighed. “I know, whoever it was they were very sneaky.”

David groaned. “You are the Captain now! There should have been men watching out for any suspicious activity!”

“I did but some of the men are not taking me seriously, for all we know it could be one of the men who had done it!” Eugene exclaimed.

“You need to keep them under control! They should not have the opportunity to do this either!” David yelled.

Eugene gasped, he did not expect him to react like this, he was tempted to shout back at him about how he was doing his best but stopped himself and taken a deep breath.

“I know, I share the blame in that part but I promise you, when I find out who has done this they will face severe punishment… This is a perverting the course of justice as it looks like they are trying to kill her before the trial or make her sick enough that she ends up dying anyway!”

David had taken a couple of deep breaths and pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to calm himself down. “It is nice of you to support those struggling like Stan and Pete but you have to toughen up, Eugene, otherwise some will take you for a ride.” 

Eugene sighed as he leaned back on his seat and bowed his head, he had noticed that some of the men some thought he was too soft and pathetic. “Yeah, you’re right… I’ve been giving them too much lee-way to act up, some of them have been fighting and I need to put a stop to it as soon as possible. I have heard there has been some workplace bullying going on so that is one of the reasons Pete had gotten into a bad mood.”

David nodded. “Yes, the guard is falling apart and only you can fix it Eugene when Pete returns to try to give him some guidance otherwise he will get worse… Like his father did.”

Eugene arched an eyebrow. “You knew Pete’s dad?”

David sighed. “Yeah… Uncle Nick… He was a friend of the family but my father had gotten so caught up in work he didn’t take the time to think about anything else when he needed help we had turned his back on him, that’s a mistake I do not want you to repeat.”

Eugene nodded. “Okay, I will do my best to get him back on track and save Cassandra… Perhaps I can arrange for you to see her tomorrow with the Queen’s special permission.”

David sighed as he bowed his head. “I don’t think it will be that simple Eugene… I trust you to care for my daughter, unlike the others you do not wish her any harm.”

* * *

**01:00 PM**

_Corona Main Street_

Sadly Varian was unsuccessful with his latest attempts of awakening Cassandra, he was getting desperate as time was running out.

“Bong! Bong! Bong!” The clock in the tower taunted him as he walked through the high street.The stress was clear on his face as his light blue eyes had gone red in the corners and puffy from all the crying, his cheeks were flushed and his hair was more messy than usual. He breathed a sigh of relief when he had seen Xavier in his workshop, saved precious time from going everywhere looking for him. 

“Xavier, can I talk to you for a bit?” Varian asked as he entered the blacksmith’s workshop.

“Sure… What’s the problem young fellow?” Xavier replied as he got up from the table where he had just finished his lunch.

“It’s about… Cassandra, someone had put her on a potion that caused her to be in a coma-like state… I think it’s the Draught of Sleeping Death,” Varian said.

Xavier gasped, he knew of that one. “That’s one of the most dangerous potions in the world! How long has she been on it?”

Varian sighed. “Two days… I’ve been trying to work out a cure but… I’m stuck, nothing seems to be working… Could you help me? I’m running out of time.”

Xavier nodded, he had never dealt with the “Sleeping Beauty” potion either but he guessed if they worked together they could figure it out.“Yes, I will do my best to help you, I might just have the thing we need."

Varian breathed a sigh of relief as he followed Xavier to the back and looked around at the bits and bobs on the shelves, he had potions in all the colours of the rainbow. He was glad to have someone else had experience with potions, it looked like Xavier had been brewing these things before Varian was even born.

“Well, to overtake a potion as strong as Sleeping Death we will need to make a stronger antidote,” Xavier said as he rubbed his chin and looked around at the ingredients jars. 

“I’ve tried bim berries, lavender and bezoar, some dry herbs, the kind of stuff in most antidotes but nothing has worked!” Varian cried. “What would make it stronger?”

Xavier did not reply right away as he pulled down jars and examined different herbs and plants. “I think one of these might just work,” he said as he pulled out a jar with almond-shaped blood-red kind of fruit labelled “Crimson berries.”

“I’ve just tried berries,” Varian said.

“Bimberries are weak, these will be stronger,” Xavier replied then taken another look around. He picked one that looked like it had bags of some kind of dried herb, barberries, salmonberries, mint sprigs and a bezoar whatever that was.

“You think berry juice is going to cut it?” Varian asked.

Xavier shook his head and picked up some dark brown beans. “This isn’t any ordinary berry juice, we will need something to boost her energy, we can try some of your herbs with it to.” 

Varian blinked, he was surprised how quickly he got to work, he seemed confident as though he knew just what to do. “Have you done this before?”

Xavier shook his head again. “No but I have made antidotes before.”

Varian nodded, relieved he had at least some experience he looked around again and noticed a small bottle with a little bit of ruby red liquid it looked like wine. “What’s that?”

Xavier paused and looked in the teen’s direction. “Oh, that’s the fake medicine someone has given His Majesty… It looks like The Hate Potion.”

Varian blinked, he had never heard of that one before, it sounded like one of the worst.

“It’s worse than The Mood Potion… Much more dangerous, it makes the anger fester inside the taker, turn them into brutal killers,” Xavier said. “That is what lead Victor to murder King Johnathan and Princess Elizabeth, almost His Highness Frederic himself.”

Varian’s eyes widened, it reminded him so much of when he had attacked the Royal family and he had no idea that he had been such a horrific experience as having his family killed.“You know about the last King? I thought he had just died from old age.”

Xavier shook his head. “My grandfather used to tell me, Xavier young man if you do not know your history you will not have a good future, those who fail to learn from the mistakes of the past is doomed to repeat it. Victor was tricked into taking The Hate potion which put him in a worse state than he already was.”

“Why did they do that?” Varian asked.

Xavier sighed. “King Johnathan had arrested his daughter then had her executed for treason when she had been framed for the attempted murder of Princess Elizabeth, he was a guard at the time but was fired when he pleaded her innocence, he was going to try and prove it but there were men in the guard who did not want him to get in the way so they had driven him to murder, all the while acting like they were his friends.”

“Oh, no..”Varian gasped, that sounded awful then he remembered the time he had seen George and Pete, he was right, George was using Pete as a guinea pig for the making of the hate potion. It all made sense as he could see his reasoning, no one would care if Pete suddenly died, well apart from Stan and maybe Eugene but if the King mysteriously died after taking something dodgy there would be uproar. He must have then thought it would be a good idea to keep it going so he could frame him for it by saying he had gone "mad." 

“What is it?” Xavier asked.

Varian sighed as he looked back up at him. “I don’t think the King is the only one who is on The Hate Potion.”


	15. Darkness

**06:00 PM**

_Captain’s Office_

“Tell me the truth!” Eugene demanded as he slammed his fist against his desk and glared at the men in front of him. “Who had poisoned Cassandra and the prisoners?”

“Come on, none of us has done anything to her apart from what we were ordered to do,” Dan said.

“Oh, oh so did a toxic fairy just come in and poison the prisoners then?” Eugene shouted.“Dan, do you know anything about potions? Why didn’t you come to me when you realised something was wrong?”

“I didn’t know where you were, Joe was supposed to get you but the idiot got Stan instead,” Dan replied. "As if he could do anything, he's as useful as a plank of wood." 

Eugene stared him down, looking for any signs of lying and he failed to see any so he thought he was either telling the truth or an excellent actor.“What about you John?”

John scoffed. “I don’t do any of that hocus pocus stuff, what would be the point anyway?” He didn’t show any signs either.

Eugene sighed as he leaned against the edge of his desk and crossed his arms. “Well, you were the last ones in the dungeons at the time it happened so it must have been one of you!”

Dan groaned. “No, we aren’t, that’s Joe and Stan, why don’t you question them?”

Eugene snarled. “I meant when it first happened! They didn’t get there until after and anyway I know that those two do not have the motive, the means or the opportunity to do it, I also know full well that Stan would never purposely kill someone with poison!”

Dan sighed as he crossed his arms and glared at him coldly. “Well, you’re barking up the wrong tree mate, we didn’t do it.”

Eugene groaned as he put a hand over his face to try and resist the temptation to beat the daylights out of them.“Okay, who do you think it was then?”

Both Dan and John shrugged.

“What’s to say it was not someone off duty? You know Pete has gone rogue and still has not changed, he’s addicted to the Mood Potion, maybe he is working with the culprit to bring down Cassandra and the other prisoners early, make them pay for their crimes,” Dan said. “When he had the fight with Stan he was ranting about her, saying if she just got off with a slap on the wrist and Scott-free where is the justice in that? She has always been the subject of their latest fights. He is not as nice and innocent as you think Captain, why don’t you question him? Have you seen him yet?”

Eugene groaned, he was not getting anywhere with either of them, although he knew Pete was not any better than he was before with his dark side was out in full view… It was strange, he never thought he would have missed the goofy guard he had been leading the past few months who either made him laugh or got on his last nerves. “Fine but be warned I will find out who has done this and when I do there will be severe consequences, you won’t just be fired but arrested for attempted murder and perverting the course of justice as the reason is to make her unfit to stand trial!” Eugene shouted. “Now get out of my sight!”

Dan and John had given him dirty looks as they exited the office.

He ran a hand through his dark brown hair in frustration, he did not know what to do, how could he prove that either Daniel or Johnathon was behind it? Would Cass or any of the prisoners be able to remember what happened? Would they even make it? Would Varian and Xavier manage to produce an effective cure in time? He groaned they had come so far then it felt like they had been knocked back to square one. He hoped Cassandra's heart was still going, he did not want to end up going back to David’s to be the bearer of bad news again, he knew there would be no holding him back then.

* * *

 **07:30 PM**

_The Poisoned Apple Pub_

The Poisoned Apple was located on the other side of the Kingdom and since it was so far out very few knew of it, this pub was very different to The Snuggly Duckling, the logo was a bony woman’s hand holding a small red apple with a green liquid draped over it and somehow formed a human skull shape. It was very quiet, dark with large stone walls, in one corner there was a model of the magic mirror from the Snow White story which seemed to be a running theme in this place. There were just small candles on the tables and in candlesticks placed in the corner, a long wooden table in the middle with wooden chairs on either side and opposite ends, George sat on the head of the table and Dan was beside him, this was the only place they could talk about their plans out loud without being caught no one else would dub them in as they were hardened criminals and ex-convicts themselves, they did not have a good side, unlike the Snuggly Duckling thugs.

“Cassandra is growing weaker by the hour, Varian is working with the blacksmith to try and make an antidote,” Dan said. 

“What have you given her?” George asked as he narrowed his eyes at him, this was not part of the plan, he could not believe he had been so stupid to kill her off this early, it would only draw more attention to him and they would likely get busted long before the trial day.

“The Draught of Sleeping Death, she wouldn’t even get to the trial,” Dan replied.

“You idiot!” George yelled as he smacked the back of his head. “You were supposed to use the normal sleeping potion, just to buy us some time to work on the Hate potion!”

Dan shrugged. “She was getting too annoying with her screaming and shouting, been a good distraction for the Captain… He’s completely forgotten about you and Pete, he’s been spending all his free time fussing over her.” 

George sighed as he leaned his head against his hand. “I told you to knock her out, not kill her! Don't you know the difference?”

Dan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he leaned back in his chair. “Don't worry, even if they do succeed in waking her up, she won’t remember anything so Captain will never know who did it.”

“He’s different to Dave, he doesn’t let things go… Like a dog with a bone, it won’t take much for him to figure it out,” George said then took a swig of his beer. “We’ll have to find another way to distract the Captain and the Princess… This is why I usually work alone.”

“How are you going to do that?” Dan asked.

There was a moment of silence as George stroked his beard, it would have to be something more sneaky and harder for him and his buddies to resolve to keep them occupied long enough until the day of the trial.

“Evening George, Daniel, a chanté,” a stranger’s voice spoke out, it was quite deep, the man emerged from the shadows, he was dressed in dark clothing and wore a mask that was designed like a skull. “I heard your little chat, you are doing a lot to get the Blue Monster strung up… I think I know just the person who could help.”

“Who?” George asked.

“We have a newcomer, take a look and you’ll see,” The Shadow Man said as he pointed his stick at the door which made it open by itself. “Now, now, you shouldn’t lurk in doorways.” 

“Okay, Shadow Man,” Pete said as he entered the room and The Shadow Man disappeared into the darkness again.

“What are you doing here?” George asked as he bolted up and stared at him in shock, he thought he had gone back home after they were done in Old Corona.

Pete shrugged. “It looks like I’m the bad guy now… Just because I wouldn’t baby Dave’s brat and don’t even get me started on that pipsqueak Varian,” he groaned as he approached them. “Sick of hearing his squeaky voice in my head… Like an annoying little rat.”

“Woah, what kind of potion did you put him on?” Dan gasped and his jaw dropped, he had never seen this side of him before like everyone else he had always known him as the friendly and goofy guard, a very nice guy. 

“Shut up!” George growled as smacked the back of his head again.

“What?” Pete said as he glared at the pair of them suspiciously, ironically he thought they were acting weird.

George tried to play it cool with a fake laugh. “Nothing, nothing, just being stupid as per usual,” he shot Dan a glare as he got up and lead Pete to the bar. He had already poisoned his mind with The Hate Potion, he supposed he might as well make some use of him while he was under its influence.

* * *

**09:00 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

“You’re doing very well, Cass,” Eugene said as he sat on the edge of her bed, it pained him to see her in such a state. “Your dad is coming to see you tomorrow... I have managed to pull a few strings for him, he was furious at first then calmed down... He said I needed to toughen up because the guard is falling apart... Pete’s gone off on one, some of the guys have been pushing it with you.”

He breathed a heavy sigh as he held her hand and rubbed the back with his thumb. “We’re all here for you Cass... Varian has gone to get help from Xavier, he probably has been doing this stuff before we were even born... You’re in good hands, we’ll do whatever we can to get this poison out of your system.” He wished people would stop poisoning his friends, first there was Lance and this time it was Cass.

“I’m not sure she will be able to hold on much longer Cap... She’s gotten so weak,” Joe said as he stood behind him.

Eugene shook his head, he couldn’t believe that they could not lose hope, Varian said it would last three days they had two more days left. “You don’t know Cass as well as I do, she’s a fighter... She will pull through this and we’ve got a master potion maker on our side to!”

Joe nodded, although he was doubtful he had played along. “Hopefully she will wake up in time to see her father... I’m surprised he didn’t come storming down here when you told him this morning.”

Eugene sighed. “Usually he would but he hasn’t been very well himself... He did get angry with me but then calmed down, I had given him some space to clear his head so he would be ready to see her and I could set something up so it doesn’t end in disaster the last thing I want to happen is for him and the King to get into a fight, he was furious with him to. Arianna wants to talk to him to, just to give him some support but whether he will be up for that I’m not sure.”

“Is that necessary? You brought Varian in straight away, why not her father?” Joe asked.

“It was an emergency Joe, I thought Varian would be able to quickly whip something up, cure her and the other prisoners... I needed to give David time to calm down before he comes here and to prepare himself... In case she doesn’t make it,” Eugene said.

If Cassandra could she would have cried, it was all too much... She did not catch everything Eugene said but when he said he’s going to bring her dad over she felt a tight knot in her stomach. It did not matter how much time he had alone he was not going to keep calm, she knew that once he sees her he was going to hit the roof. If the culprit was found he would go into full Papa Bear mode, it was rare he did but he would be in for a big shock, no one gets away with hurting his cub, he would not stop until he found out exactly who had done this.

* * *

**10:30 PM**

_The Poisoned Apple_

George looked like the Cheshire Cat in human form as he watched Pete leave the pub, he had enjoyed their chat seeing how much the potion had affected him, he was turning into a villain… He could imagine the shock the Captain, Princess, David and all the other guys will have on Monday now he had given in to his darker side, all the people that put him down before would certainly regret it.

“Wow… Who knew he could be this feisty,” Dan said. “I don’t think anyone would be able to see him the same way after this.”

George did not reply right away, he wondered how he could use him in Plan B to get them through this in one piece, throw Fitzherbert off course and drive attention away from Cassandra. “Wouldn’t it be tragic if Dave couldn’t make it to his own daughter’s trial?”

Dan blinked. “What do you mean? You’re going to kill him?”

“No, stage an accident for him… Make him mysteriously disappear, that would distract Fitzherbert long enough to get him off our backs and make some use of Pete while he’s off his head,” George said.

Dan narrowed his eyes as he looked at him, he did not follow. “What?”

George groaned as he facepalmed. “Do I have to paint a picture for you to understand? Soon Pete will be completely out of his mind, he will pick up a fight with Stan in front of the guys and if I wind him up a bit more, he will run away. Everyone now knows he’s been on the pot so it won’t be so unbelievable when they find out he was cause for David's unfortunate demise... No matter how much Pete tries to plead his innocence no one will believe him, Fitzherbert would be so mad at him he would completely forget about us.”

“You think you can pin this all on him? Wouldn’t Stan come and defend him?” Dan asked.

George shook his head. “Not after their last fight he won’t… He has turned everyone he knew and cared for him away so when he gets in trouble he will be all alone.”

Dan gasped, that plan sounded so devious. “Wow, that is evil! How is that going to make any difference to the trial?”

George chuckled as he took another sip of his beer. “Wait and see, he may just attack the King like Victor… This time I will be the hero who saves Corona from another disaster.”

Dan gasped again, it sounded so ambitious he was unsure if they could pull it off then paused and looked at his mate with a confused expression. “Who is Victor?”

George sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “The guard that had gone rogue and killed King Johnathon and King Frederic’s sister Princess Elizabeth.” 

"Oh," Dan said and nodded. "Good luck with that... This is the biggest scheme you've ever come up with."

"Just follow my lead and do exactly what I tell you from now on," he hissed as he shot him an icy glare and grabbed him by the collar. "This is your last chance Daniel, screw this up and you will end up like the former Captain, do you comprehend that?" 

Dan gulped as he looked into his dark brown eyes. "Y-Yeah... I understand." 

........ 

Pete walked down through the outskirts of Corona the potion still thrived in his system as the hate and anger burned inside him like a raging fire, he did not know what this strange, dark feeling was as once again he was drunk. Along the way he came across a group of thugs, these were different from the ones in the Snuggly Duckling, they were cold, heartless and cruel, he shoved through them without any fear.

“Hey, watch where you’re going, idiot!” One of them shouted out at him.

Pete did not reply right away, he glared at them from over his shoulder then turned around to face them head-on as he stared them down. “What did you call me?”

He was reckless enough to take them on despite being outnumbered and lacked physical strength in his mind, he thought he was invincible as he threw the first punch at the punk who was much taller than him and very muscular. Within minutes they had all pounded onto him and beaten him to a pulp like a pack of wolves with a deer, he did not stand a chance. Once they were quite finished they left him as he laid still on his back and quickly fallen into the darkness.

* * *

**10:50 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

“How is she?” Rapunzel whispered as she sneaked into the dungeons again, it was not even difficult for her to just waltz in.

“Still holding on, hopefully, Varian and Xavier will succeed in making the first cure for Sleeping Death,” Eugene said.

Rapunzel sighed as she shook her head. “This is just too cruel... Who could have done this?” Rapunzel said as she stroked her friend’s jet black hair.

Eugene shrugged. “I can’t say for sure but I will ask around... There is something really messed up going on.”

Rapunzel sighed. “Yeah... It’s scary, we are supposed to trust our guardsmen but how can we when these things are happening? Why would they do this? Why would someone put my father on the mood potion again?”

“Yeah, a guard would be the last person you would expect to be a villain... Though we should know by now that things are not always as they seem,” Eugene said.

Rapunzel nodded, he was right. “I never expected Varian to turn on us like he did or... Cass... Pete has been very nasty lately even to David and Stan, his best friend, he’s been very stressed out lately like I was when Cass left us... I don’t know what’s gotten into Pete, he is usually so kind and gentle.”

Eugene sighed. “I know but he does not have the means to do this... He does not have the ability to produce a simple potion let alone something as complicated as this, if anything he was used as a pawn again, someone has been a bad influence on him but when he gets back I will help him. In the meantime, my main priority is to get Cass through this.”

Rapunzel nodded. “You’re right... Her life is on the line right now, everything else can wait a little longer. I hope whatever Varian and Xavier come up with will be enough to combat this awful thing... We should get her checked over by a doctor after, see if there’s any lasting damage in her heart, it’s been through a lot.”

Eugene nodded. “Yeah, I’ll get one down here tomorrow... Joe said when he asked for help from one of the Royal medics they refused when he told them Cass was the patient. There’s a good one nearby who also has a great knowledge of potions.”

Rapunzel frowned, she couldn’t believe they would be so cruel to turn away from her when she needed help. “Who?”

“Professor Woodlock... He’s the guy who had written the potions book Varian has, fortunately, he isn’t too far away,” Eugene replied.

Rapunzel breathed a sigh of relief, she felt a little bit excited for him coming. “Great job Eugene... You’re really getting the hang of this Captain thing, I told you that you will be great, one of the best Corona has ever had!”

Eugene blushed. “Aww, you sure know how to make a guy feel good Sunshine.”

Rapunzel nodded and put her hand over his so there was a small pile of hands. “I know things seem dark right now but if anyone can bring back the light it’s us.”

Eugene smiled as he looked up at his fiancé, he felt like the luckiest guy in Corona, no the world to have her in his life, when he felt hopeless she brought it all back to him. He enjoyed hearing her sing as she turned her attention back to Cass, this time it was not any particular song just a tune, he loved her voice it was so gentle and soothing like an angel.

“Do, do, do, do-do-do, do, do, do, do-do-do.”

Eugene cleared his throat, it had been a while since he had last done a bit of singing, he was not usually into that kind of thing but it seemed like a nice way to comfort her so for a few minutes they carried on the tune.

“Do, do, do, do-do-do, do, do, do, do-do-do.”

If Cassandra could, she would have smiled, she was not normally into all this sappy stuff but it touched her that they had taken time out of their hectic schedules to come and see her, although they were not sure if she could hear them they had talked to her anyway which had given her great comfort to know that she was not alone while the agonising pain went on inside her chest. This was the worst potion she had ever come across and she had seen quite a few bad ones, it seemed to build up the pain as it slowly killed the person who had the misfortune to be given it, she hoped it would stop once she was cured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dunn Dunn Dunn! Watch out, David! Stay away from the outskirts of Corona especially at night!


	16. What Goes Around

**02:30 AM**

_Stan’s House_

“Pete are you alright?”

Pete stirred as he awakened, his vision was blurry at first then it cleared in front of him was Stan’s wife Lily, his heart had skipped a beat for a second as she leaned over him and rubbed his shoulder, what was she doing out there? He then realised he was no longer in the outskirts he was in Stan’s house!

“Why did you bring me here?” Pete asked as he got up. It was a nice little house, there was a big armchair and a smaller one on either side of the fireplace, there was her books on the shelves in the corner and a small set of drawers next to it, a small table with a couple of plain wooden chairs.

“Bark! Bark!” A little Jack Russel appeared beside them, Patch because of the brown patch-like markings on his face and body, he ran up to Pete expecting some fuss like he had usually given him but was instead ignored.

Lily sighed as she put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “You had cuts and bruises when you first came here to... Stan is resting right now, he has not been very well lately, he’s been really worried about you… Oh my goodness you’ve gotten so thin! When was the last time you had something to eat? I know you skip meals when you are upset!” 

Pete didn’t reply as he watched the rainfall through the window in the sitting room, he had a flashback to the day he met Stan, the moment he had held out his hand to get him out of the rain and given him something to eat. 

“You see, Stan always had your back... When you were at your lowest he had given you a hand and helped you get back up and never expected anything in return,” he heard a voice in his head which sounded like the “Old Pete.” 

“That was a long time ago, he doesn’t care anymore, where was he when Eugene kicked me out!” Pete said out loud. “It’s his fault it happened in the first place!”

“Pete, who are you talking to?” Lily asked as she had just left the kitchen, she held a wooden tray with two cups of water and a couple slices of bread. 

Pete had frozen up and stared back he couldn’t very well tell her he was talking to another version of himself she would probably call for the asylum workers he dashed off, in a panic, Lily dropped the tray and went after him, it worried her how awkwardly he moved.

“Wait! You’re not well, you could get hurt again!” She cried out but he didn’t listen.

“Lily? What’s going on?” Stan asked as he rushed down the stairs and ran after her.

Lily sighed as she turned to him. “It’s Pete… I don’t know what happened to him but he’s badly hurt and… Sick, I found him unconscious in the street over there while I was walking Patch.”

Stan groaned as he put a hand against his face, he hoped he would have been better than this. “Stay away from him Lily!” 

“We can’t just leave him out there… He’s not thinking clearly, he’s going to get himself hurt again!” Lily cried.

“Lily, I have to put your safety first, if he’s still on that potion like the guys have been saying he could hurt you!” Stan shouted. “Stay in the house, I’ll find him and take him home myself!”

Lily’s jaw dropped and she shook her head. “Stan… He wouldn’t just hurt someone for no reason.”

Stan groaned, he was getting tired of this. “Lily please just stay in the house, you shouldn’t have been out that late, anything could have happened to you, I told you it’s not safe!”

* * *

**Monday 90:00 AM**

_Xavier’s Workshop_

The pair had spent the weekend experimenting with different herbs, chemicals and berries to make an antidote strong enough to combat the Draught of Sleeping Death and The Hate potion both were quite complicated and proved challenging. Varian had some new elements to strengthen it more, there was one he had named “Raplium” after Rapunzel as its bright yellow colour reminded him of her Sundrop hair and was created to support her heart and lungs, he had not decided on a name for the other one yet which was to give her the boost in energy as she was bound to be exhausted after all of that. There was one he had made to combat the hate with calm, something that would snap Frederic and Pete out of their rage, they may get a bit emotional but at least it would bring down the risk they posed to others.

“Wow,” Varian gasped as he looked into the pot, it looked like a load of orange juice as it turned into a bright orange colour, he had started to feel hopeful that things would start to look up, Cassandra was going to survive.

“I think we’ve got it!” Xavier exclaimed then held his hand up for a high-five and smiled as Varian put his hand on his, it was great to see the little guy smile again, all the panic and worry fade away.

“How is the antidote for the Hate Potion coming along?” Varian asked.

“Very well, this ought to calm them down… We have to get this to them as soon as possible, especially Pete… I’m not sure what the culprit was planning but if he gets a hold of any weapon it is going to be a disaster,” Xavier replied.

Varian nodded, he was not entirely sure either… At first, he thought they were going to put the King on the Hate Potion so he would order Cassandra to be executed so what was the point in using this potion on Cass if it could kill her long before the day of her trial? Why was he still tagging Pete along? Was he going to try and frame him for this? He shook his head, it was just madness. 

“How is it going?” 

They both snapped out of their thoughts at the sound of a familiar man’s voice, they turned and seen David at the door.

“Ah David, I think we have just cracked it… Your daughter is going to survive by the end of the day she will be awake,” Xavier said as he approached him. “We have created an antidote strong enough to combat this horrid draught with my Saporian herbs and Varian’s new elements!”

David gasped, he was so relieved, he had not been able to sleep at all through the weekend as he was worried sick that Cassandra would either die quicker than expected or this potion would turn out to be incurable. “Thank you so much, Xavier and Varian… I can’t believe you are putting in so much time and effort to save my daughter!” He cried as he bowed to them.

Xavier waved his hand. “You’ve very welcome, I am always willing to help those who need it… I hope the culprit will be found soon, they have done a lot of harm, Sleeping Death is one of the most dangerous potions in the world due to its complexity and its ability to kill the taker painfully… She will have some chest pains after she is woken up but I’ll leave that to the medics to deal with.”

David looked up at Xavier in alarm, the warning about long term health problems from the potion scared him, he wondered if that meant she would get hurt again? Was she still going to be in pain in a week?

“I’m hoping the Rapium will help soothe her heart and lungs so the after-effects of the potions would not be too bad and keep the pain to a minimum,” Varian said. “A safer version of the Sundrop… One that won’t bring up rocks everywhere.” 

David nodded as he glanced at the pot, he did not know a thing about potions so was glad to have two people by him who did. “Good idea Varian… We do not want to go through that again.”

“Nope, do you want to come to the castle with us?” Varian asked.

David nodded. “I am planning on seeing her today anyway, Fizherbert has given me permission to visit the dungeons.”

“Great, I am going to be seeing Cassandra, Xavier will be treating Pete, we will leave the King with to the Queen, she has a plan to get the cook to drop it into his food,” Varian said.

David’s brow furrowed as he looked at the young alchemist in confusion. “What’s wrong with Pete and King Frederic?”

Varian breathed a heavy sigh. “They are on The Hate Potion, creating an antidote for that was as hard as the Sleeping Death… The ingredients for that are very rare, I haven’t been able to find them all so we had to look around for some alternatives.”

“Hate Potion?”

Varian nodded as he picked up a flacon and filled up with the Sleeping Death antidote, luckily he had a few left, he left it to Xavier to explain.

“It is an extremely dangerous potion as unlike The Mood Potion it makes the taker only feel hate and if not cured soon it will turn them into brutal killers, it has been used in wars to make the knights keep on fighting and to drive people to murder,” Xavier said. “I suggest you steer clear of him for the time being.”

David’s eyes widened for a moment, it all made sense of what he had seen in his nightmares, he was brainwashed why he was suddenly attacking him.“That explains some things but I’m sure I’ll be fine, Pete has never been a great fighter, he lacks physical strength.”

“Hmm, I wouldn’t be so sure of that… You’re not as agile as you used to be and if he had a sword on him, he could sneak up and stab you,” Xavier said. “Worse still shoot you with a crossbow or hit you with a halberd… This potion changes people David, I know he is not ordinarily violent but if he gets vengeful he will find a way to get to you.”

* * *

**09:30 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra was at her worst, she thought she was going to die this time, the pain in her chest had intensified and it became harder for her to breathe. She tried to do the breathing exercises that Stan taught her but it got too difficult as her lungs struggled to keep up with the pattern, she felt as though she was being crushed, her heart had grown tired, she was not sure how much longer it could go on for. This was the third day she had been on the potion, she was running out of time, in a way this was worse than when she had died the first time around at least then it was quick and painless, this was the complete opposite. She could hardly hear her breathing it had gotten so shallow, she felt herself become drained of the little energy she had, she had a sinking feeling that this was going to be it, this was her fate to die alone and no hope of being brought back again.

“Okay, today is the day,” Eugene said as he exited his office, he had a busy day ahead of him, checking on the prisoners, his men, meeting David, Varian and Xavier at the gates, getting the doctor, try talking to Pete again, he had taken a deep breath as he passed through the corridor along the way he had come across Pete, although he did not recognise him at first. He had to do a double-take because his face was covered in bruises. He just hoped Pete could get through the morning without getting into another fight, he had hardly got any sleep last he was worried sick about everyone, Cassandra, David and him, it had all gotten out of control. He knew time was running out to save Cassandra and the other prisoners, sadly some who had underlying health conditions had already died, he sighed as Joe and Greg removed the deceased prisoners on stretchers, some of which were close to their release date, they would be moved to the back and buried in an unmarked grave along with those who were on death row. If they had any loved ones or friends they would not get the chance to say any goodbyes or pay respects, it was just the way it was.

David did not wait to meet Eugene at the castle gates, he charged down there like a bull in a pottery shop, for once he ignored the ache in his hip, after hearing of the sad fate of those unlucky prisoners he was terrified he was going to lose his daughter, some of the guards tried to stop him but he did not listen, he wanted to be there for his daughter, he did not want her to die alone. “Varian hurry!”

“I’m going as fast as I can, I’m not very speedy in case you haven’t noticed, sports is not one of my strong points,” Varian said as he had a heavy bag on his shoulder.

“David? Varian? Xavier?” Eugene gasped.

“Where is she?” David cried.

“Just down here… Praise yourself, she is in a very bad state, we are cutting it quite fine,” Eugene said as he waved his hand and led the way. “Phil, Matt bring Pete down to my office and stay with him!”

Phil and Matt nodded then rushed out of the corridor and headed upstairs, Xavier had taken himself into the Captain’s office he breathed out a heavy sigh as he dreaded to think of what state the young guard was in.

“How has she been doing?” David asked nervously as he had seen another prisoner get carried out by a pair of glum guards.

“Not very well, it looks like she is starting to die now… It was round about lunchtime she had been poisoned,” Eugene replied as he led them downstairs. “As you can see, some people sadly have not made it… Some had died during the night.”

“That’s awful, I hope you find out who has done this Eugene, they need to be stopped before they do more murders,” Varian said.

“I’m trying my best, I just have to find a way to prove it,” Eugene said with a sigh.

“Hopefully she will remember what happens when I get my hands on that guy he is going to regret attempting to murder her!” David growled.

“I strongly advise you don’t do that… Captain, just let Eugene deal with him,” Varian said. “If I hadn’t seen him I would have said it was George, he has the motive and means but not the opportunity as he was in Old Corona at the time of the poisoning… Perhaps he has a little sidekick somewhere.”

“I have my suspicions but we will discuss that later… Here she is,” Eugene said.

David had frozen once he had set eyes on his daughter as she laid almost motionless on the bed, the only sign of life was the way her chest still managed to rise and fall but was noticeably slow. Eugene opened the door and stood aside to let them through as soon as he was in Varian got to work, David had sat on the edge of the bed and held his daughter’s hand, it had scared him how cold she was despite it being midsummer.

“Okay, here goes… My last chance to save her,” Varian said, he had taken a deep breath as just like before he gently prised her mouth open and poured the antidote into her body.

The three of them waited with bated breath as they looked out for more signs of life, hoping to see her open her eyes.

“It will take some time to kick in,” Varian said to inform them and remind himself as he made the mistake in thinking that they all worked instantly.

“H-How long?” David asked as he tightened his grip on Cassandra’s hand as tears streamed down his face.

“The healing will be starting now, should take a few seconds but may take a bit longer for her to wake up… You can stay with her in here while I treat the remaining prisoners,” Varian said as he turned around, quickly washed the bowl with a soapy alchemy bomb and moved to the next one to her. “This is going to take a while on my own… Hopefully, I will be able to save some more lives.” It sickened him to the stomach to think someone had tried to kill them for no good reason, it frightened him to think that if this happened while he was locked in there, he would have been on the brink of death himself and there would have been no one to save him.He shook his head, he had to keep calm, he had first checked Cain’s pulse to see if she was still with the living and like Cass, it had grown fainter but there was still time to save her, he did not know who they all were or what they had done but at the same time he did not care. All he wanted was to save as many lives as possible, he wondered if he ought to go into medicine, a way he could use his knowledge of science to help those who were injured or sick.

“Cassandra,” David said in a soft voice as he thought he heard her groan, his heart skipped a beat as he had sworn he had seen her eyes flutter, he had dropped on his knees and gently stroke her hair.

“D-Dad,” Cass whispered, her voice hoarse from her dry throat.

“I-I-I’m here honey,” David stammered as he was shocked how quickly it worked, he thought it would be another half an hour before she came round.

Eugene breathed a sigh of relief before he had a sinking feeling that it would be another fail, that they had missed one crucial ingredient or gotten all the wrong ones and ran out of time to try again. He smiled as he watched them, it was unusual to see the former Captain cry but at least it was tears of joy and not heartbreak, he dreaded to think what would have happened if the antidote had failed.

“I love you so much, Cassandra… I was so scared that I was going to lose you again,” David said.

“I know Dad… Don’t worry, I’ll be okay now,” Cassandra whispered as she gently brushed a tear from his cheek. "I'm going to get better."   
"That's my girl, my brave, strong daughter... You will get through this, we are going to be there for you every step of the way," David replied as he stroked her dark hair and kissed her forehead. 

Cassandra smiled, it had been a long time since he had last done that, she never expected that he would be the first face she had seen when she awakened. 

* * *

**10:00 AM**

_Castle Second Floor Corridor_

“Hey Pete, how are you feeling?” Joe walked up the corridor he tried to hide his shock but struggled to keep his jaw from dropping he as not only did he have bruises all over his face he had a large black eye on the left and his right eye had a bad looking scar, he supposed there was more of that on the rest of his body.

“Look at the state of him… He looks worse than when he left,” Will whispered, he was one of the oldest men on the guard, quite tall, lean with a bushy brown beard and moustache.

“Yeah, I’ve heard he’s been on the pot since the battle,” Greg said in a hushed tone, he was quite a bit older than him, a little taller, light-skinned, brown eyes and a red goatee. “I’m surprised the Captain has let him come back, he came in an hour late and he can’t guard anyone if he’s off his head on something and hungover… Goodness knows how much he’s been drinking, I don’t think you have to be an expert to know that potions and alcohol make a terrible combination.”

“He seems to have lost the plot since that day,” Rob said. “I won’t be surprised if he gets fired one of these days.”

Some of the men watched as he silently, although they were nervous Joe and Stan followed him and stood beside him.

“Pete, what’s going on?” Stan asked him once again. “Lily said she found you unconscious in the street late at night and it looks like you have been drinking again as you smelled of alcohol, I had looked everywhere for you at one in the morning!”

“Some of those stupid thugs had beaten me up last night on the way back home,” Pete said.

“Where did you go? I had told Vlad and the other pub thugs not to give you any alcohol, you were supposed to take that time to clear your head not get off your face!” Stan shouted. “Eugene was kind enough to put you on sick leave instead of firing you and now you’re throwing it back in his face!”

“Stop acting like you are my father!” Pete hissed as he glared at him. He groaned as Stan grabbed his jaw and made him face him so he could get a good look in his eyes, his pupils were still dilated.

“It’s true… You are addicted to the mood potion as well as alcohol!”

Pete growled and swatted his hand away. “No, that’s just a rumour that idiot Dan started, I’ve never been on any stupid potions… What would it matter if I was taking potions anyway?”

“Pete!” Joe gasped.

“I’ve just looked into your eyes, your pupils shouldn’t be that big and of course it matters! Some potions can be very dangerous, you have no idea what kind of stuff is in them!” Stan said in a raised tone. “You could hurt yourself or someone else, combining it with alcohol is just asking for trouble, Cassandra has been in a coma since Friday because someone had given her a poisonous potion!” 

“Yeah, I’ve heard… At least it will be quiet down there,” Pete muttered.

“Quit being so mean Pete, she could die from this!” Stan exclaimed. “Varian and Xavier have been working very hard to make a cure!”

“How many times do I have to tell you I don’t care about Cass or Dave?” Pete hissed, he then got up and walked away to the other end of the corridor.

“Peter, this has to stop now!” Stan shouted as he went to grabbed his arm just in time.

“Shut up!” Pete yelled as he tried to shake him off. “Go ahead and see your new best mate Eugene, update him on the latest gossip!” 

“I only talked to the Captain because I was worried about you and wanted to help!” Stan cried. 

“Just leave me alone!” Pete yelled.

“I can’t do that to a friend and you’re like a brother to me, I can’t just stand by and let you hurt yourself like this!” Stan cried.

“We are not friends or brothers!” Pete shouted. “You’re nothing to me!”

There was a moment of silence as Stan and the other men were stunned for a moment. 

“Pete... Why are you being like this?” Joe asked but was completely ignored and everyone watched them, Will and Greg gasped as Stan grabbed Pete by the collar of his shirt.

Stan looked devastated, he could not believe what he had just heard the way he had just said he was ‘nothing’ was like a stab in the heart. “Do you mean that?”

Pete didn’t speak just yelled and lashed out at him at that very moment Joe grabbed Pete and Will grabbed Stan from behind.

“Peter stop it!” Stan yelled. “What on Earth has gotten into you?”

It had gotten worse as Pete had broken out of Joe’s grip and made him crash into a table, Stan watched heartbroken as he stormed off again but before he got out of the room Phil and Matt cornered him.

“Stand down!” Matt shouted.

“Get away from me!” Pete yelled.

“Ican’t believe you are still on the pot, Steve told us you were attacking Stan! You’re pushing the Captain’s patience!” Phil said he yelped as he got kicked in the stomach and hit his head on the door. At that moment Joe, Greg and Will grabbed him from behind and pinned him down.

“Get off me!”

“Not until you have calmed down, we have to take you to Xavier to be cured!” Greg shouted. “If you don’t start behaving yourself you will either find yourself back out on the streets or in a cell!”

Stan’s heart sank as he heard his friend screams as he tried to escape, he could not even bear to look anymore. He sighed as he turned around and headed out, along the way he had seen some of the maids and other servants gathered round to see what the commotion was about. 

Nigel tutted as he shook his head. “Fitzherbert should have sacked him last week, disgraceful behaviour, I will have to inform His Majesty about this.”

Stan sighed as he watched the advisor scurry down the corridor and entered the main study room where he guessed the King was… Watching people from the window, for a room called a study and being a person who was fortunate enough to have a great education, he did not do a lot of reading. Maybe if he did he would see where he was going wrong and the mistakes Kings of the past had made. 

* * *

**10:20 AM**

_Castle Dungeons_

For the first time in three days Cassandra’s eyes opened, her vision was blurry at first but quickly cleared up and was surprised to see her dad right there in front of her and Eugene at the door. “Wow… I’m alive… I’m alive!” She gasped as she put a hand over her chest but then grimaced as she had nasty heartburn.

“Yes, you are and it’s all thanks to Varian and Xavier, I will never be able to thank them enough!” David cried, he had moved closer and pulled her into a big Papa Bear hug, something he had been longing to do since she was snatched away from him, Cassandra accepted it and rubbed a hand on his back to comfort him, he had been through hell like her with the nightmares and the worry about the outcome from the trial.

Cassandra smiled for a minute then her mood was dampened when she remembered she was still in the dungeons and had yet to face His Highness for her sentencing… She knew he was going to punish her severely. “Hopefully their efforts won’t end up being in vain.”

“I have a feeling he will have a change of heart by then, he was not… of sound mind earlier,” Eugene said.

Cassandra’s blinked, did he just say that the King was “mad?” As though he had never done anything unreasonable without being under the influence of a potion. “I doubt it… He isn’t the cuddly family guy you think he is Eugene, when it comes down to it he is cold-hearted and spiteful, he had torn us apart before, he’s bound to do it again… This time permanently.”

Eugene looked at her and David, he had a solemn look on his face, not even he could deny it after everything he had seen and heard.

“He has repeated many of his father’s mistakes… Not listening to people, acting on impulse, burying head his head in the sand while the Kingdom falls apart in more ways than one,” David sighed as he bowed his head.

There was a moment of silence then Eugene decided to bring the topic back onto the poisoning. “Do you remember anything from the day you were poisoned, Cass?”

She blinked a few times and stared into space for a moment as she tried to recall the incident but she could not gather much. “I-I don’t know who it was… I couldn’t see his face… It was very quick, there was this green cloud and I was out like a light.”

Eugene nodded. “Ok, so it was a man… That narrows it down a bit, I’ll ask around with the remaining prisoners later… First, we are moving you somewhere safer so this does not happen again, I have a hunch that he only targeted you but did not realise how much it spreads… Luckily it did not go beyond the dungeon floors.”

Cassandra gulped then sat herself up, although she trusted him she could not say the same for other guards. “Where are you going to take me Eugene?”

Eugene put on a smile as he walked towards her. “Upstairs where I can keep a better watch on you and the men, you will be relieved to know I have gotten the King to call off the force-feeding.”

Cassandra’s jaw dropped slightly as her eyes widened if she had the energy she would have jumped up and hugged him. “Thank you, Eugene... Really? How did you get him to do that?”

“I can be very persuasive… I had put up a strong argument against him and had the missus on my side,” he said with a wink. 

Cassandra smiled, her heart warmed at the thought of Arianna fighting her corner, she never imagined that she would even dare to do so for anymore, she noticed how nervous she used to get around him when he was in a “bad mood.” That was not a good way to be in a relationship, they needed to be equal, neither should fear the other. She sighed as she got herself up from the bed, she had accepted her dad’s support as he put an arm behind her waist, she was a bit unsteady on her feet which she guessed was to be expected considering she had been lying down for a long time, she looked around in the other cells to see the remaining prisoners slowly coming around, she jumped when she felt Varian’s thin arms around her waist.

“Aww, it’s great to see you, Cassie! I was so afraid I was going to lose you!”

Cass smiled as she looked down at him. “Thank you for saving me, Varian… I was so exhausted last time I saw you I had forgotten to apologise for everything I had done to you, the kidnapping, the drugging, other attacks... I am so sorry for hurting you, it was out of line and you did not deserve that treatment.”

Varian sighed. “I had already forgiven you for that Cassie… I know you are genuinely sorry for what you did and you will never do anything like that again, I am willing to give you another chance… Hopefully, when the trial day comes His Highness will to.”

Cassandra nodded although she was doubtful she did not want to scare him more than he already was, she put on a smile and patted him on the shoulder. “Go get some rest kid, you look tired, be careful you don’t push yourself too hard.”

Varian nodded, he was very overtired, he had not slept properly since Thursday he was sick with worry about her and had all-nighters working on antidotes. “Yeah, I’ll head back home now… I hear my bed calling me,” he chuckled then looked back at her. “You take care to Cassie… I hope the culprit is found and brought to justice soon.”

“Don’t worry kid, he will,” Eugene said as he patted his back.

Varian had given Cassandra one more hug then had seen himself out of the dungeons.

“He has come along very well… It's great that he is putting his talents to good use now,” David said as the teen walked out.

“Yeah, he works very hard… He had been through a lot, I’m glad he is in a better place now and feeling somewhat happy,” Eugene said then sighed. “I’ll admit I was reluctant at first but I’m glad I had forgiven him and given him another chance, I would have been lost without him right now, he’s a good guy at heart.”

“You think I stand a chance? I have done more damage than Varian… I have hurt people not just physically but emotionally to, I mean just look at Pete! He has never been like this before, I had caused that trauma!” Cassandra cried.

“Hey, hey, don’t put all the blame on yourself, there is a whole lot more to it than you think… He has taken something that he really shouldn’t have and Xavier is fixing that for us,” Eugene replied. “Yes, it will take some time but soon most people will calm down and be more open to you.”

“You think so?” Cassandra asked.

“I know, I have seen it happen before, it won’t be easy but it’s possible to gain their trust back,” Eugene said.

“Eugene is right Cassandra, just take it one step at a time,” David said as he held her hand again.

Within minutes they were upstairs but were in for quite a shock as they heard screaming and yelling from one of the rooms at the other end. 

“That’s him isn’t it?” David asked.

“Yeah, I didn’t expect it to be easy but it shouldn’t take much longer… I had told them that if he becomes too dangerous for Xavier to handle they do it instead, last thing I don’t want to risk him getting hurt,” Eugene said.

Cassandra’s eyes widened as she imagined him being pinned down by those guys like they had done to her, that was one thing she would never have wished on anyone, not even her worst enemy. She feared this would make him feel angrier even after the potion had been put out of his system.“You had them force feed it to him?” 

Eugene sighed as he held his hands up. “Trust me, Cass, I would have much rather it had been done peacefully but he was not willing to take it despite any gentle prompting from Xavier… I can’t risk him getting hurt if he was to turn violent, which judging by the way his face is now covered in bruises he has been.”

“Try putting it in his food or something, it’s not hard to trick him! Forcing it on him will make it worse! How do you think he will react after it’s done?” Cassandra cried.

“We’ll see how he goes… I’ll try to help him again by keeping him in the infirmary until he has gotten over his addiction… I wish I had done that in the first place instead of leaving him to his own devices,” Eugene said then sighed again. He snapped out of his thoughts when he had spotted Xavier limping out of the office with his hand over his hip.

“Xavier are you alright?”

“Oh, Eugene… As you had probably figured it had not worked out well when I tried to give him the antidote he had kicked and hit me several times… One of the men said they would take over, he is stronger than he looks,” Xavier replied.

“I am so sorry about this Xavier… I should have just left it to the men in the first place, go home and rest up,” Eugene said as he put a hand on his shoulder. “Be rest assured I’ll be having strong words with him later, potion or no potion that is unacceptable behaviour… He should have seen you were only trying to help.”

“I agree, surely even under its influence he should have known not to attack him,” David said. “I didn’t understand what had gotten into him he was just fine before… I hope he improves after his treatment.”

Xavier sighed. “The thing is… He has become paranoid, he thinks everyone is out to get him… Usually, he freezes when he feels threatened doesn’t he? This potion has been making him aggressive and hateful hence the name Hate potion, this is no fault of his own… It has clouded his judgment very badly, he appears to be very confused right now, he doesn’t even know what he’s angry about, just everyone and everything. It’s nothing personal, he may not even remember everything that has happened since he had taken it.”

“It won’t be as simple as to give him medicine… I have seen him change over the last few days, there is so much more to it than whatever potion he has been on, maybe that goofy guard thing was just a front to mask his negative emotions and sometime after the battle he snapped. It’s no good leaving him to sort himself out, he has no idea what to do, it would leave him open for others to take advantage to like what Zhan Tiri did to me,” Cassandra said.

Eugene nodded, he had to admit she had a point.

“Come on Pete stop being awkward and take the damn medicine!” Greg shouted.

“No! You’re trying to poison me!”

“We’re not!” Greg and a few other men said in a raised tone as they had grown frustrated. 

“Yeah...This is going to take a while, let’s just wait in my office,” Eugene said as he turned around and led David and Cassandra there, when he opened the door he was shocked to see what happened to it, the table had fallen on its side, the papers were scattered all over the floor, some torn up, his chair had somehow ended up on the other side. “Well, when he is done in there I’ll get him to clean this mess up… Has he ever been this much bother with you, Dave?”

“No.. Well, he’s had his moments but never this bad,” David replied then gasped as he looked around the room that he used to work in. He was shocked how someone as slight as Pete was capable of causing so much of a mess, he dreaded to think what the other guards had to put up with. It looked like he had put up a good fight when he was trying to avoid taking the antidote.

“Captain!”

Eugene groaned as the man burst the door open, he turned around and seen Steve with a look of horror on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Pete… He refused to take the antidote and attacked us, he knocked the flacon out of my hand… He kicks like a horse! My rib is killing me, he almost strangled Joe! He’s completely lost his mind!” Steve exclaimed.

Eugene’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly, he could not believe what he had just heard. “W-Where is he now?”

“I don’t know… Once he had knocked us all down he darted off, he doesn’t usually run very fast so it’s possible to catch him before he gets out of the castle grounds,” Steve replied.

“Right, Steve take Cassandra to the cell on the left and take a break, I’ll gather the men and catch him… We will keep him in solitary confinement until the potion wears off,” Eugene ordered then turned to David. “I am so sorry about this David, this was supposed to be your chance to see Cassandra but with Pete running around while being off his face I can’t supervise you.”

David nodded. “I completely understand… That sounds like the best way to deal with it Eugene, it is unlikely he will cooperate if you were to try this again so it would be pointless to have Xavier go through the trouble of making the antidote again because he has been hurt by him while trying to administer it gently… I hope his behaviour improves after this but if he still fails do not hesitate to relieve him of guard duties, this aggression makes him dangerous.”

“I understand, thank you for your advice, David… I think I’m starting to get the hang of it now, I am showing them whose boss,” Eugene replied.

David nodded then turned back to Cassandra and given her one last hug, although he hoped he would get the chance to give her more soon.

“Take care Cassandra, if any of the men act out of line with you tell Eugene straight away.”

Cassandra did not reply straight away as she put her arms around her dad’s shoulders, she never thought she would miss the feeling of being in his big strong arms as much as she had since she had been thrown in the dungeons, how she wished she could go back home with him right away. She hoped she would get the chance to do just that someday, even if it was five or ten years away, a long wait was better than having no chance at all.

“I love you, Dad,” she whispered in his ear.

“I love you to Cassandra, you’re my sunshine… Losing you in death is my worst fear,” He said in a whisper to as he stroked her hair again. "I have missed you so much! I wish I could just take you back home with me now!" 

"I know Dad, I miss you to and I've been worried about you," Cassandra replied. "I have been afraid that your hip would get worse and you were seriously ill and hadn't realised it." 

"Oh, Cass... I'm getting better now, it does not hurt so much now... I think I will soon be able to start working again," David said. 

"What are you going to do?" Cassandra asked. 

David shrugged. "Maybe I could do something with horses, that's one thing I'm skilled at other than fighting."  
Cassandra smiled, that sounded like a great job for him, horses were his favourite and he was great at handling them, she was glad he was getting back on track. "That's great Dad, I hope it works out for you."  
David smiled and pulled her into another hug. "I hope it works out for you to Honey and King Frederic finds it in his heart to forgive you."  
Cassandra's smile disappeared as she thought back on the nightmare she had the other day.“Please be careful Dad, stay away from the outskirts especially at night… I’m afraid someone will hurt you."

“What do you mean? No one is going to hurt me… You heard Eugene, Pete is going to be kept in solitary confinement until he is over this, he isn’t going to hurt anyone again,” David said.

Cassandra sighed as she pulled away. “They might not catch him, I mean sure he is not very fast usually but he could always hide somewhere, he knows this castle well he could take a short cut and get out without anyone seeing… I don’t know how long its meant to last but until he is caught stay inside!”

David nodded, he knew could see where she was coming from, it looked like she had the same nightmares he had been having for the past few days. “I understand your concern but if he does get loose, I will have to protect the vulnerable members of the community as Xavier said he will attack anyone that approaches him, I can’t just stand by and let people get hurt.”

“Not when it puts your safety at risk, father you are in no position to fight! If he kicks you in the hip, it would make it worse!” Cassandra exclaimed.

Eugene sighed as he had hoped they would get to use this opportunity to have a good heart to heart chat but it was just typical of David despite the hell he has been through he concerned himself with another person's wellbeing and Cassandra surprisingly did to, usually, she would not have cared and been annoyed that he was worried about someone else again but also looked genuinely worried about her former co-worker. “Although it does not often happen, I agree with Cassandra, it is best you leave it to me and the men to catch Pete should he get loose, this potion makes people behave in unpredictable ways, the last thing I want is for you to get hurt… If that happened it would break Cassandra’s heart and it has been through a lot already… Look after yourself, one way you can help your neighbours is to warn them not to approach him.”

David sighed as it saddened him to be told that he was no longer fit enough to fight, even someone with less physical strength than him, it still shocked him that Pete was being talked about like a dangerous criminal. “Alright… I’ll be careful, good luck Eugene.”

“Don’t worry, I will find a way to fix this,” Eugene replied and then led him out of the dungeons.

Just before David turned around he had given his daughter a wave goodbye.

Cassandra waved back as she watched her dad leave with a heavy heart, it reminded her of her early childhood days when he used to leave for the search of Rapunzel or other missions, she missed him and often worried that he would have an accident and get hurt.

* * *

**11:30 AM**

_Castle Gardens_

Pete was hidden in a corner of the garden in the shadows that was often overlooked, he had taken a leaf out of Shadow Man’s book, he had just managed to catch his breath, he was now much more than angry… It was hard to describe how he felt, he now truly hated Cassandra, David, Varian, Eugene, Stan, Xavier, Joe, Will, Greg, Phil, Matt and everyone else. He regretted returning to the castle, he felt violated when those guys pinned him down to the floor, hit him and tried to shove that stuff down his throat, he never would have lashed out at Xavier and the rest of them if they had just left him in peace! He did not understand how they had expected him to react when they all pounded onto him and tackled him as though he was a wild animal. He was just about to move when he heard the clanging of armour then moved back into the shadows. 

“I knew that would happen, he has lost his mind!” He heard Dan’s voice from behind as he walked past. “It would not be that simple to get him off the potions… He’s still addicted.”

“This has happened to his dad... After his wife died he had gotten hooked on some kind of potion, the Captain had fired him straight away,” he heard George’s voice.

“Yeah... I remember that he was told it was medicine to help with his nerves but it just made it worse after that no one else would hire him so he had to give up Pete for adoption,” Will said. “He thought he would be able to get him back someday but didn’t get anywhere on the job hunt…Maybe if there was someone to help he wouldn’t have killed himself.”

Pete’s eyes widened as he heard that, he didn’t abandon him when Belle told him he was gone she meant he was dead. The rage inside him had grown stronger as he thought of the former Captain, he knew he was struggling and just ignored him, if he had just tried he would have gotten better and he wouldn’t have ended up in care. He just dumped people when they were no longer useful, just like the King.

George scoffed. “He was a grown man, he had no one to blame but himself, he was a terrible father to Pete… No wonder he’s so messed up in the head.”

Pete growled as he emerged from the shadows.“What do you mean I’m messed up?” 

George and Will jumped, it was funny how sometimes when you talk about someone behind their back they suddenly appear, he grinned as he really knew he was there, it was just the thing to push the buttons, he was soon going to regret spiking him with that potion.

“Ah, there you are, we’ve been looking everywhere for you… We heard what happened in the Castle, I’m on your side… You’re struggling with your emotions,” George said as he put on a fake smile.

The anger did not fade from Pete as he approached them looking like he was driven to murder. “No you’re not, why are you letting him spread rumours about me being an addict? I’ve never taken any potions! Why are you telling him stuff about my dad that’s none of his business? I shouldn’t have been the last to know that my dad had died!”

“Come on Pete, you’re becoming paranoid... Dan was not the one who started the rumours, I thought you already knew your dad was dead,” George said.

“Liar! I told you I thought he had left Corona to start a new life elsewhere, you could have told me then that he had died! You led me to believe that I had been abandoned by my father, who loved me but was forced to give me up! He was left on his own because no one could be bothered to help!” Pete yelled. 

“Come on, it’s obvious you are off your face with the Mood Potion!” Dan taunted.

“Dan stop it, you’re going to make him worse!” Will shouted, he then taken a deep breath and approached Pete and tried talking to him in a gentle tone. “I know you’re struggling, Pete… I understand you’re upset-“

Pete shook his head. “No, no, I’m more than upset… Don’t start pretending you care now, Will! You knew who my dad was and you didn’t think to say anything to me but you had easily talked about him behind my back!”

Will sighed. “Pete, if you don’t stop this now you will be fired, the Captain’s patience is running out, he has to put the safety of the Royal family, the rest of the guard and the people first right now you’re a risk to both!”

“Oh, you still think I’m the bad guy... Okay fine, now I’m the bad guy,” Pete hissed. “I’m not going to be a Royal Dog anymore!” He has seen some of the guys appear behind them then darted off.

“You can’t just run away from this Peter!” George yelled as he ran after him.

“You all made it pretty clear you don’t want me around anymore… I trusted you! I was stupid enough to fall for the nice guy act! All my life people had used me to get what they want but no more!” Pete yelled and pushed him away.

“Oh no, you don’t!” George yelled as he grabbed him from behind. “I’m not letting you loose in this state!”

Pete growled as he tried to wrestle out of his grip, it was at this moment he had spotted David as he stared at him in shock. He then dared to approach him, his expression changed to one of genuine concern. “Pete come on... Snap out of it, this isn’t you! I can see it’s hard but fight this potion, I know the real you is still in there,” he said in a gentle tone, it worried him to see so many bruises on his face he couldn’t help but wonder what caused it.

“Get away from me!” Pete yelled.

“It’s alright Dave... I’ll make sure he gets the help he needs, the poor guy has been off it since the battle,” George said.

“Shut up! Liar!” Pete hissed as he continued to struggle with George’s and Dan’s hold.

“Don’t worry Dave, he’ll be better soon, though I doubt he will be accepted back in the guard,” Dan said then turned to him. “Why do you have to be so dramatic? You’ve wasted enough of our time already, shut up and do what you’re told!”

“Hey, don’t talk to him like that, you will make him worse!” David exclaimed, he jumped when Pete lunged towards him and the pair of them knocked him to the ground.

“I think you better go, Dave, it seems your appearance is agitating him more,” George said as he held him down on the left side.

David breathed a heavy sigh then turned around, he had taken one more glance at him before he walked out it was painful to see him in such a dreadful state, he hoped for his sake that he would get better.

* * *

**11:40 AM**

_Castle Dungeons_

“I guess it didn’t work,” Stan said as he and Eugene walked through the corridor.

“No, he kept lashing out at the guys even Xavier... He had broken the flacon when they tried to give it to him,” Eugene replied. “For the safety of the Royal family and people of Corona I have ordered them to put him in solitary confinement until the potion has worn off naturally... Hopefully, it won’t take very long.”

Stan sighed as he facepalmed. “Couldn’t he see that they were just trying to help? He doesn’t seem to realise that something is wrong with him.”

“He appears to be very confused right now, Xavier said he has become paranoid... He thought we were trying to poison him when he’s back to sort of normal I’ll talk to him and see what he can remember.”

Stan nodded. “Yeah, he was really mean to me earlier and hit me... I’m surprised he managed to hurt all those guys especially in his condition! I can’t believe he had kicked Xavier, poor guy... That’s going to hurt him a lot more than it would hurt us.”

Eugene nodded. “I’ll tell him he owes Xavier and some of the guys an apology then we can start with his recovery.”

“Captain, Peter’s been caught and the Doctor is here to see Cassandra and the other prisoners,” Steve said.

“Okay, thank you, Steve, let him in,” Eugene said.

As ordered Steve opened the door and the man entered. He looked about David’s age, he was tall, pale, he had short raven hair, light blue eyes, he wore a black tunic, trousers, shoes and cape. “Morning Captain… It’s good to see the antidote has been successful.”

“Thank you for coming Professor Woodlock, this way please,” Eugene said then turned around. Stan and Steve followed behind the guest just in case something were to go wrong.

“Hello Miss, I am Professor Woodlock, I have been informed that you have been put on the Draught of Sleeping Death, you’re very lucky to have survived,” he said as he entered her cell.

Cassandra did not reply she just stared down at the floor, the sound of Pete’s screams still rang in her ears, she had shaken her head and faced the man in front of her, she watched as he knelt and held her wrist.

“That’s good to see your pulse is getting back to normal, how are you feeling? Do you have any pain in here?” He asked as he put a hand on his chest.

Cassandra sighed. “I-It’s sore… I guess heartburn is a side effect of it, would it have damaged my heart?” Her voice was still hoarse as her throat also hurt.

Woodlock nodded. “Yes, it will cause problems for your heart… You were very close to dying, it kills the taker slowly and painfully, I have heard your friend had given a new element to soothe your heart, Rapium, which is a good idea, you would have been in a lot of pain otherwise but sadly is not enough to cure it… You will have to be careful you don’t push yourself too much.”

“What are you going to do?” Cassandra asked. He put a hand on her forehead to feel her temperature, she was just starting to warm up.

“Is your vision okay?”

Cassandra nodded. “M-My… throat… hurts to.”

“You may be dehydrated, can one of you get her some water please?” Woodlock asked.

“I’ll head over to the servants’ quarters,” Steve said as he took the chance to get out of the place.

“I see you have a rash on your arm and some bruises, I guess some of the men have been rough with you?” Woodlock asked.

Cassandra nodded.

“Don’t worry Cass, I am putting a stop to that,” Eugene said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

Cassandra looked up at him with wide eyes, how was he going to do that? They always struck when his back was turned, how was he going to stop them if he’s not there?

“Would you mind me checking your mouth for swelling?”

Cassandra paused then opened her mouth as he held her jaw carefully.

“It appears to be okay, fortunately, the damage from the Sleeping Death isn’t too severe on you,” Woodlock said then gotten himself up. 

“Are these chest pains going to be for life?” Stan asked.

Woodlock nodded. “I’m afraid so… Her heart won’t be as strong as it used to be,” he opened his bag, pulled out some herbs and handed them to Stan.

“Put these in her meals, it will help with the side effects and ease her pain when the Rapium wears off.”

Stan nodded as he held it in his hands, he wasn’t sure what it was but he trusted the man’s word. “I will tell the guys to do that when they are on meal duty.”

“Rest well Miss, I hope in time you will feel better,” Woodlock said as he faced Cassandra one more time then walked out of the cell. “If she or any of the other prisoners experience any difficulty feel free to contact me.”

Eugene nodded then closed the door and led him to Cain’s cell but just as he was about to unlock it Will came running to him.

“Captain!”

“Oh, what now?” Eugene groaned.

“It’s Pete, he’s escaped!” Will exclaimed.

At that moment both Eugene’s and Stan’s jaws dropped. “What?”

“H-He's nowhere in the Castle, he's gone! We had found Dan unconscious and George said he had attacked him to when they were bringing him down here then ran away again!”

“Well, he couldn’t have gotten far in his condition… Stan, you stay here with the doc, I’ll go and get him before he gets out of the castle grounds!” Eugene said as he handed the keys to Stan then ran down the corridor.

Woodlock watched with a bewildered look on his face as the two of them rushed out then looked at Stan with an arched brow. “Is it always this chaotic in here?”

Stan sighed as he unlocked the door. “Yep… There's always something, the joys of being a Royal Guard.”

Cassandra stared at the wall, her heart skipped a beat when she heard that Pete had escaped, usually, it would not have worried her but she knew that while he was under this potion he was dangerous. It surprised her that he had managed to knock another man unconscious, he was never a great fighter now he was suddenly kicking butt like a pro, did that potion suddenly give him super strength or something? She hoped her dad would have listened to her warning, let Eugene and the guys deal with it. Just hearing it made her more worried about what he would do to her dad if their paths crossed, normally it would be laughable to think a skinny guy like him would stand a chance to take on her father, he had bigger muscles on his arms and a more skilled fighter but who knows what this potion makes people capable of. She looked up at the grey cloudy sky nervously, she was afraid something horrible would happen to him if he went out that night. “Please be careful Dad... I don't want you to get hurt.” 


	17. Comes Around

**Monday 12:20 PM**

_Castle Dungeon_

Cass pressed a hand against her forehead, she felt another headache coming on as it was like she had been beaten up herself, she guessed this was one of the side effects and she had been sleeping for nearly three days straight. It had been quite noisy since her fellow prisoners woken up but they had quietened down. She had heard some whisper about a guard that had gone bad and was about to be taken down himself when he had escaped. She sighed as she thought of her dad, he had criticised Frederic for being impulsive and reckless but there were times he was like that to.

“Here’s your lunch… I put those herbs in that the doctor had given you for the pain, how are you feeling?” Joe asked as he entered her cell.

“Okay… I guess I’m still alive… I was lucky to survive,” Cassandra replied. “I’ve heard some of the prisoners died during the night.”

Joe sighed as he set the tray down. “Yeah, I had to take them… Out to the back to be buried, they were not able to last as long as you as they were not in a good condition to begin with.”

Cassandra nodded though the thought of the men disposing of their corpses sent shivers down her spine, they dropped into the ground with nothing to say who they were or any kind of memorial… Nothing, there was nothing left of them. They had died alone in pain, their loved ones never got the chance to say goodbye to them, they may not even know that they had been poisoned or if they did she could only imagine the heartbreak they felt when they were informed of their demise a day or so before they were due to be released. She shook her head, she did not want to think on that anymore, she looked back at Joe and tried to think of something else to say. “What happened when you were trying to force Pete to take the potion?”

Joe sighed as he gazed at the floor. “He just went ballistic! You probably heard his screams from over here... He kicked us a few times, it wasn’t too hard since we had a similar build to him and aren’t very strong either... He had almost strangled me... I was being as gentle as I could. He turned into like this monster… His eyes turned red, it was really scary. I’m really surprised he had managed to fight off George, wow... A big guy like him I don’t get how he knocked Dan out though or how he got out so quickly without anyone else seeing.”

Cassandra nodded. “Yeah... That does sound very strange, he is not big and strong like Stan... It just doesn’t add up, would you say George and Dan are trustworthy?”

Joe sighed again and shrugged. “Well, they are guards... We need to the Royal family to trust us to protect them.”

“He may think he is protecting them but he is doing a lot more harm than anyone,” Cassandra said. “When Dad and I returned home he said I ought to be hanged for my crimes and ever since I first came here they have been cruel to me... I know what it’s like to be in a toxic friendship to I have been surprised by how much I have seen myself in Pete. Ever noticed how lately when something happens it involves those two whether it’s about me or him?”

Joe blinked as he did not seem to see where she was going with this but Stan did as he overheard their conversation, once he had given the last meal he had charged out of the block.

Cassandra jumped when the door slammed behind him, she imagined that was how her dad was when he came in earlier, she wondered what was he going to do?

Just before he was about to burst in, Stan paused as had heard them talking about the time they were bringing Pete back into the castle.

“I thought the plan was to get him to run away, why did you drag him back in?” Dan asked. “Ow! Would ya stop hitting me!”

“I’ll stop hitting you when you stop doing stupid things! I told you we can’t talk about it out loud in here!” George shouted then brought himself closer to him to whisper the answer in his ear. “I had to make some adjustments... It would have looked too suspicious if we had not even tried to stop him from running off.”

“George! Daniel!”

They turned and seen Stan at the doorway, he had an unusual stern look on his face as he glared at them, it looked as though once he had gotten over the initial shock he realised their story just did not add up. He knew Pete more than anyone and he had a gut feeling that it was not exactly truthful when they told Steve he had escaped. “Let me get this straight… Peter had knocked Daniel out just by headbutting him?”

“Yeah… He’s vicious for a little guy,” Dan replied.

“Hmm,” Stan raised an eyebrow and eyed Dan suspiciously, he knew he was a sneaky little rat, he suspected he was behind the poisoning of Cassandra and the other prisoners, possibly the one who had set her up in the first place. “I find it very hard to believe that he was able to fight you off George, sure he did not have much problem with some of the men who handled him since they have a similar build but you’re much bigger than him. How was it that he got out without any of the other guys seeing him get anywhere near the dungeons? There is no way he would have been able to get through all of the floors so quickly without being stopped and I very much doubt a head butt from him would be enough to knock Dan out, something sounds off here.”

“Would you shut up?” George shouted.

Stan snarled as he uncrossed his arms and charged towards him, he got so close they were face to face to each other.

“No, he’s my friend, I want to know what happened! What did you do? I know about some of his past issues… Did you know that twelve years ago he was an alcoholic? That’s what led him to lose his other job and you’ve just gotten him back into the habit again! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get someone off that kind of thing?”

“How was I to know that? He never told me!” George shouted back.

“It doesn’t matter if he did or not, you were stupid enough to encourage him to drink it when he was in a bad mood!” Stan yelled as he glared at him, he knew he was not being truthful, he never liked him but now he hated him for putting his brother in such a dangerous position and using him as a scapegoat. He grabbed him by the collar and pinned him to the wall, he was not even on the Mood or Hate potion and he was furious in Brother Bear mode. “I swear if anything happens to him… I’ll see to it you go down! I know you have something to do with him being sick!”

“How are you going to do that?” George asked. “You have no proof.”

“I’ll figure something out, I’m not scared of you anymore!” Stan growled. “I’m watching you, George! I will not let you get away with messing with my little brother!”

George growled and pushed him back, Dan watched with his jaw dropped as the two had broken into a fight like a pair of stags.

“Hey! Hey! Knock it off! Don’t you two start!” Will shouted as he ran into the room and put a hand on both of them and pulled them apart. “It’s bad enough now with Pete on the loose while being high!”

“How do you think he got high?” Stan asked as he crossed his arms and glared at George.

“Oh sure blame me,” George muttered.

Stan snarled. “Well, you had taken him to a pub and got him to drink when he was already in a bad state… You know how he is, very trusting usually, gullible… That’s how I used to be as well.”

“You’re the same idiot you’ve always been!” George shouted.

“Okay, guys stop it now!” Will shouted. “Stan come with me and let these two get on with their work.”

“Shut up!” Stan and George both shouted at the same time.

Will breathed a heavy sigh, put his hands up in surrender and left.

“You know what? I think you let him out on purpose!” Stan growled as he cornered him and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck again. “Ever since he had started hanging around with you he’s been acting out of character, it must have been you that had gotten him onto The Hate Potion!”

“Did you figure that out all by yourself fatso?” George teased as Stan released his hold on him then he strolled calmly around the room.

“Yeah… I have!” Stan said, for once he did not show the hurt he felt from being called fat like he had done several times before. “You created the Hate Potion to bring out His Highness’ dark side, one thing the Mood potion does is bring out the most repressed trait in a person’s personality, in his case it’s anger just like Pete and me, you had used Pete as a guinea pig, you thought no would care if he were to drop dead should something go wrong. You had tried the mood potion but that did not bring out the rage enough and his mood swung about too much then you tried mixing it with alcohol which you knew would knock him over the edge, that is the real why you had encouraged him to get back into the habit of drinking!”

“Yeah, David would have been preferable but no one was getting anywhere with him,” George said cooly. “Now all that’s left to do is stage an unfortunate accident for David when Pete finds him.”

“You won’t get away with this!” Stan growled.

“Oh, I already have… Pete is gone and by the time they find him, it would be too late… He will be the one who gets punished, everyone now sees him as nothing more but a junkie and alcoholic, he had spent his sick leave getting high and drunk… Can’t say he was never given a chance to redeem himself, I don’t imagine Fitzherbert would be empathic to the man who killed the former Captain and Cassandra would be so heartbroken she would not have the strength to defend herself in the trial.”

Stan shook his head, completely taken aback by what he had just heard, he snapped out of it and glared at him again. “You know people have been saying that Cassandra is a monster but she’s not, the real monster around here is you!”

“Dan, do your thing!” George hissed.

Bonk!

Stan cringed as the frying pan crashed into the back of his head it knocked his helmet the wrong way and he crumpled to the ground, Dan crouched down, turned him on to his back and pulled out a light blue flacon with clear liquid, taken the top off, pulled his jaw down and poured an almost half of it into his mouth, he smirked wickedly as this was not the first time he had done this, he had put extra in just to be evil. “There, he won’t remember a thing… He’ll be back to his clueless old self.”

* * *

**02:20 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra sat crossed-legged on her bed as she tried to get herself to relax, the one good thing in the gruel was the herbs that soothed the ache in her chest, she had hoped it would have removed all traces of the Sleeping Death but sadly that did not seem to be possible as although it was strong enough to stop it from killing her it was not able to reverse all of the damage. She would still be able to go exploring and other activities she enjoyed but just needed to be careful not to push herself too much, she was happy when her dad told her he was getting better but she had doubts in her mind if he really was better or if he just thought he was because the pain-killing potion had numbed the ache in his hip, he looked very tired she just didn’t think to say anything, she did not get a chance to with all the chaos going on around them. She thought he should still get himself checked out by a health professional even though doctors were hard to come by for those who were not rich, people often had to find a way to sort out their health problems by themselves. She hoped he would keep himself safe until Pete had been brought back in and was secured in solitary confinement, she would have hated anything to happen to him, she had a feeling that all of this had been planned, that whoever caught Pete had released him on purpose. The more she thought of it the more it made sense, how else could he have gotten out without being caught? Unlike Eugene, he did not have any outsiders to help with his escape like the Pub thugs and like Varian used Pete as a dummy to experiment on starting with the mood potion then created the stronger version which made him feel nothing but hate. She wondered what he planned to do with Pete next? Why stage his escape?

“Hey, you live here?”

“Yeah, I’m a prisoner!” One of the prisoners shouted. "You locked me up in here!"

“This guy is so thick… Then again all Royal Dogs are,” a voice she recognised as Andrew piped up.

Cassandra blinked as she put her bowl to one side then got up from her bed and looked at Stan with a concerned look on her face, he often popped into the dungeons when he could but he seemed to have forgotten what a dungeon was or even who they all were, she was surprised to see his bald head instead of his helmet, he had never forgotten it before. “Are you okay?”

Stan turned and blinked as he looked back at her then glanced at the floor and looked around the block. “What is this place?”

Cassandra’s eyes widened, he had gotten amnesia, he had completely forgotten where he was and that he was a guard. “It’s the dungeon… You’re a Royal guard, I’m a prisoner,” she wondered if he even knew what those words meant anymore if he did not that would be a worrying sign.

“Oh,” he said as he looked down at his bronze chest plate then looked back at her, he was like a confused child as he looked back at her with a puzzled expression. “What’s a guard? What’s a prisoner? What is a dungeon for?”

Cassandra breathed a heavy sigh as she facepalmed, this was just great, first Pete had been driven up the wall and now Stan had severe memory loss, she had taken a deep breath then faced him again, she was not able to help him but hoped Eugene would return soon so he could give him some help and that whatever was done to him was fixable. “There is a room outside here… On the bottom of the corridor, on the left.”

“Left? What’s left?”

“Oh boy,” Cassandra sighed, she couldn’t wait for Eugene to return it looked like Varian or Xavier would be needed again.

“Cassandra!”

Cass groaned this was not a good time for the flower child Princess to fly in, she could not have a friendly natter with her while she had a very confused guard right in front of her.

“Who's this? Is she a prisoner to?” Stan asked.

“No… This is Princess Rapunzel, the daughter of King Frederic and Queen Arianna,” Cassandra replied.

Rapunzel had paused, her cheerfulness faded as she stared at Stan in concern. “What’s wrong with Stan?”

Cass sighed again. “He had somehow gotten amnesia after finishing meal duty, doesn’t even know what a guard is now!” 

Rapunzel threw her hands over mouth as she gasped. “That’s awful… First Pete now Stan, we need to find whoever is spreading these different potions around, I’m so sorry for this Stan, we’ll get you cured as soon as possible!”

Stan looked at her as though she was talking another language, he did not understand a thing she had just said.

“I had tried giving him directions to Eugene’s office but he has even forgotten what left means,” Cassandra said.

Rapunzel sighed as she put a hand over her face. “What are we going to do?”

Cassandra shook her head, angry at whoever had done this to him, it was a sick joke.

“Stan, you are supposed to be upstairs guarding the Princess- Oh boy,” Joe said as he entered and groaned when he spotted her.

“Whose that?” Stan asked.

“Joe, he’s another Royal Gaurd,” Cassandra said, she thought this was going to be a long day, he would have to introduce him to the team all over again and the other members of Royal staff.

“Hi, Joe… What’s my name again?” Stan asked.

“Stan,” Joe replied then turned to Cass. “What the heck happened to him?”

“I have no idea… It looks like someone had given him a forgetfulness potion or knocked his head on something,” Cass replied.

Joe nodded, he supposed it should not have surprised him after what had just happened. He put on a fake smile and put an arm around Stan’s shoulder.

“It’s ok big guy, I’ll take you to the office and we can wait there till the Captain comes back.”

“Who is the Captain?” Stan asked.

Joe breathed a heavy sigh. “Eugene Fitzherbert, he’s our leader.”

“Oh… What is he going to do?” Stan asked.

Joe sighed again as they got closer to the door. “I don’t know but I hope he can sort something out.”

“What’s your name again?”

Joe groaned as if this day was not bad enough already, he left him alone for ten minutes and he got his memory wiped out. "It's Joe." 

“Joe.” Stan repeated. “Joe.”

“Lord give me strength,” Joe muttered as he facepalmed, he did not know how much more of this he could take.

Rapunzel sighed as she watched them leave. “Poor Stan, he’s lost all his memories and has no idea who he even is anymore.”

Cassandra nodded. “He’s doesn’t know anything anymore… Something really messed up is going on, whoever done it thought he knew too much and given him some kind of potion to completely wipe out his memory so he can’t tell Eugene.”

“This is getting way out of hand… Hopefully, Xavier will be able to fix it, it would be horrible for his wife to see that he doesn’t remember who she is,” Rapunzel said as she unlocked the door and seated herself down on the opposite bed. “Anyway, how are you doing?”

Cassandra sighed as she laid back on her bed. “I was sore but I’m feeling better now… I had seen Dad this morning, he was the first person I saw when I woke up.”

“Aww that’s great, I’m so glad you made it through ok, I hardly slept last night I was so scared you were going to die again, this time in a more painful way!” Rapunzel exclaimed.

Cassandra nodded. “Yeah, we got to have a bit of catch-up but then the thing with Pete happened and all the focus got put onto him because everyone was afraid of what he was going to do, he was a real handful… The guys couldn’t even handle him!”

“I heard… Eugene’s been very stressed lately, I had suggested that he goes to the salon and have a massage but he won’t, says he does not have the time to… He usually loves his pamper sessions, he’s been looking really tired to, I’m worried about his wellbeing with the guard falling apart, the situation with you and my dad,” Rapunzel said and sighed. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I know… He’s been having a really hard time lately not even my dad had to deal with drugged up guards as far as I know… He has been giving Eugene some advice on leading the guard, mostly toughening up so they don’t start thinking they can get away with anything,” Cassandra replied.

“That’s good of him… It’s horrible what has been happening to Stan and Pete, I thought they were all good men not the kind of people that picked on those weaker than themselves,” Rapunzel said. “They are being taken advantage of as they don’t even understand what is going on with them, they don’t know anything about potions, they have been tricked into taking them and it is going to be so hard to fix them.”

Cassandra sighed. “Some guys don’t join the guard for the right reasons… They misuse their position of power and sometimes try to take the law into their own hands… It looks like it’s not only Varian and Xavier who know a thing or two about potions, they would have chosen those two as dummies to experiment on, they are one of the few they can do it on.”

* * *

**02:30 PM**   
_Corona High Street_

Eugene groaned as he rode through the town with Greg, Robert and four other men on the search for Pete, much to their frustration they had been unsuccessful.

“How could he have gotten away so quickly? Usually, he struggles to just go through the halls without getting out of breath or cramp,” Greg asked.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Eugene replied.

“Is something wrong Eugene?”

He paused and looked to the left and seen Monty as he came out of his shop once he had seen them, the guard was just on horseback when they were training, preparing for an attack or looking for someone so he supposed he wanted to know what all the commotion was about.

“We’re looking for Pete, he has ran away… I strongly suggest you do not approach him as he is not in a good state of mind right now.”

“Pete? The guard? What’s wrong with him?” Felspar asked.

“Long story short he has taken something that he really shouldn’t have and we need to find him before he hurts himself or someone else,” Eugene replied.

“Is he like Cassandra? She looked like she was on something when she attacked us,” Monty asked.

“Well, no Cassandra was clean of any potion… I hope that he won’t attack us… He does not seem to be planning to but he may lash out at you if you get close to him, he is very angry, confused and scared,” Eugene replied. “As far as I know he does not have any weapons on him which is a plus but he has gotten quite strong, I suggest you avoid the alleyways, outskirts and the woods for the time being as that is where he may be hiding.”

“What will happen when you find Peter?” Felspar asked.

Eugene sighed, he really needed to get going, he watched as the other men checked the alleyways by them, he hoped he had not gone too far out where they would not be able to find him quickly. Even though it sounded good for him to be away from the people, a part of him did worry that he would have an accident and hurt himself or worst still get himself killed by getting into a fight with a group of men who were much bigger and stronger than he was again. “I’ll take care of him and make sure he recovers, get to the bottom of this, to be fair he is easily swayed so he might not be entirely at fault for his actions.”

“What did he do?” Felspar asked. “Did he attack the princess to?”

“No, no… Just the other guys, we are going to try and take him back to the castle so hopefully, I can get him better,” Eugene replied.

“Are you sure it’s such a good idea to take him there? What if he breaks out again and kills King Frederic? That’s what happened last time a guard had gone bad,” Monty said.

Eugene sighed, yes he had considered that possibility which was why he had planned to put him into solitary confinement where he would be secured away from others until he was back to normal then move on to his rehabilitation. “I know… I had a plan to keep him in a place where he would not be able to get to them or anyone but he somehow escaped… Don’t worry we will find him soon in the meantime be careful, especially at night.” He had given Max the signal to move then joined Greg and Richard as they checked around Xavier’s.

“Another prison outbreak?” Xavier asked.

“Yeah… Pete has gotten loose, have you seen him anywhere?” Greg asked.

Xavier shook his head. “No, I haven’t… How did that happen?” Xavier asked.

Greg shrugged. “Somehow he knocked one man unconscious and hurt the other’s back… I find it hard to believe, he’s such a little guy, he does not have a lot of muscle.”

Xavier sighed as he bowed his head, this was very bad news… After examining him he had figured he had been given a lot of it and since he did not take the antidote it would take a fortnight to wear off, hate when taken to the extreme was very dangerous and although he was not very strong he could still seriously hurt someone which he had hoped to prevent. “I hope you find him soon, I don’t think he would likely be around here… He may be in Old Corona where there is more space for him to hide.”

Eugene nodded. “You’re right, we checked his place earlier and he was not there… I was surprised he abandoned his cat, the poor thing was very hungry when we got in, there was a lady who kindly volunteered to care for him while he was gone.”

Xavier nodded. “The poor man had his mind poisoned, he is unable to think clearly… When someone is so deep in their rage they forget their responsibilities as it brings out negative behaviour… What The Hate Potion does is bring out repressed rage a bit at a time until they are so lost in it they lose complete control of themselves.”

Eugene arched an eyebrow. “You mean Pete has been having these thoughts on his own? Part of his anger is natural?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so but as a guard he had been trained to be obedient and not show any emotion, he had left it all bottled up which is very bad for you anyway as it soon comes to the point you cannot hold it in anymore and just explode!” Xavier replied.

“Right… That explains some things… Take care Xavier, if you do see him anywhere let me know,” Eugene said as he had given the elderly blacksmith a wave and led the men further down the street, they were ready as they ever would be.

* * *

**03:05 PM**

_Castle Dungeon_

“Joseph! Stanley! You are late! You better have a good explanation for this!” Nigel yelled as he stormed into the Captain’s office.

“I’m sorry Nigel but we’ve got a bit of situation right now,” Joe said and breathed an exasperated sigh, watching Stan was like babysitting a toddler, his eyes widened as he spotted him looking into the cupboard that stored the weapons. “Wait a second.” He moved away from the door and pulled Stan away from the cupboard, “don’t go in there Stan those things are very dangerous… Just stand here and keep still until the Captain gets here.”

“What on earth happened in here?” Nigel exclaimed as he looked around the room in shock.

“Uh… Pete thought we were trying to poison him with the antidote and put up a hard fight to avoid it,” Joe replied.

Nigel tutted as he shook his head. “What a mess, there is no way he can be allowed back into the guard after showing such disgraceful behaviour.”

“Who is Captain?” Stan asked as he tilted his head slightly.

“Oh, for goodness sake, I’ve told you five times already! The Captain is Eugene Fitzherbert, our leader!” Joe shouted.

“Only asking… No need to shout,” Stan muttered and pouted.

Joe groaned as he clenched his hands in a way to keep him from losing his temper, he had taken a deep breath and faced Nigel again. “The problem is Stan has completely lost his mind… He can’t remember anything as you may have just heard and even though he is driving me nuts asking the same questions every few minutes I need to watch over him until the Captain returns so hopefully he will be able to fix him.”

Nigel sighed. “Ever since David had left the guard has fallen apart, first Peter had caused trouble and now him… Very disappointing, I hope he will get a grip soon the Royal family need strong protection especially after the latest incidents with Princess Rapunzel’s friends.”

Joe nodded, “I know, we’re going through a rough patch right now but things will get better… Once we’ve sorted out our issues.”

“Whose that?” Stan asked.

Joe groaned, he hoped he would not ask that question again, while they walked down he had asked him who a couple of other guards were and who were those people locked up in that other room. “Just the King’s little helper Nigel… Wanting to know why we haven’t turned up to our post.”

“Who is King?”

Joe cursed under his breath as he facepalmed, Nigel frowned as he glared at the bigger man behind him who had a goofy smile on his face, he was more goofy than usual.

“I think we should take him to the infirmary… He may have hit his head on something very hard, we will see what the medics can do,” Nigel said.

Joe nodded, that sounded like the best idea he had no idea how long Eugene was going to be and swore if he had to spend much longer with him, he would lose his cool. “You’re right.. Stan change of plans, we’re taking you to the medics!”

Stan had stood still and looked at him blankly. “What’s the medic?”

Joe sighed as he bowed his head and tried to think of a way to put it simply. “Some very nice people who will take care of you because you are very ill right now.”

Stan blinked. “I don’t feel bad.”

Joe groaned then grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the office. “Trust me you are!”

“Ok… Um… What’s your name again?”

“See what I mean? I tell him something and minutes later he completely forgets what I had just said!” Joe exclaimed. “He’s asked my name six times already!”

“Yes, that is very worrying… If there is nothing the medics can do Fitzherbert will have to let him go as, unfortunately, he will be unfit to work,” Nigel said.

“I know… I mean he’s never been very bright but this is just ridiculous,” Joe replied. “Maybe one of them will be able to whip up a memory potion or something.”

“What is this place?” Stan asked as he looked around the corridor as though this was the first time he had seen it.

“This is the castle… This is the home of a special family, we are here to protect them from nasty people,” Joe replied.

“Castle… Castle… Castle,” Stan said it like a small child who had just learnt a new word.

Joe breathed a heavy sigh as he kept a hold of his arm to keep him from wandering off, he dreaded the walk to the infirmary as he was bound to ask him who everyone was and what were paintings and other stuff he is bound to have forgotten about this seemed worse than amnesia as he had forgotten meanings of simple everyday words for him.

“Raps?” Cassandra said breaking the awkward silence between them.

“Yeah?”

“I-I’m scared!” Cass said shakily. “I had almost died… It was worse than when I had died the first time, it was so painful!”

“I know, I am so sorry you had been put through that,” Rapunzel replied.

“One of the guards had just tried to kill me with a poisonous potion!” Cassandra cried as put her hands on either side of her head, tears streamed down her face. “My heart is damaged from it, I’m going to have to be so careful now!”

“Oh, Cass,” Rapunzel sighed as she got up and knelt at her bedside. “What that guy had done to you was evil, Eugene is working hard to find the culprit, when he has the evidence he will face severe punishment, we can’t have our men thinking they can get away with murder!”

“W-What if he does it again? What if he uses a worse one that will kill me quicker?” Cassandra asked.

“He won’t Eugene has tightened the security around here so there is always at least two guards watching the dungeons at all times if Stan sees something suspicious he will say,” Rapunzel said.

Cassandra breathed a heavy sigh. “You know what he’s like Raps… He’s easily distracted that’s how we were able to get past him so many times and now he’s either got a really bad head injury or under a strong memory loss potion.”

Rapunzel sighed. “Yeah, he may be out of action for a while but I’m sure it won’t be too hard to fix… He does have flaws I know but he has improved a lot since the final battle with Zhan Tiri, he doesn’t get so silly anymore.” 

“I’ve been surprised how kind he has been to me… As though I was a friend,” Cassandra said. “He has always tried to comfort me when he saw me in distress, he was there to support me when George cuffed me to, he has done a lot for me even disobeyed direct orders from the King even though I am not anything to him.”

“He is very kind, I guess he cares about you so much because he has seen you grow up from when you were a kid… He wants to help your dad to so he is doing all he can to get you both through this just like Eugene and me… We are all here for you and your dad,” Rapunzel said.

Cassandra did not reply right away as she stared up at the ceiling and more tears spilt from her eyes. “I’m scared for my dad to… I’ve been having nightmares of Pete killing him and now he’s escaped… I’m afraid it will come true.”

Rapunzel sighed and shook her head. “I’ve heard he’s gotten really bad now… I don’t think he will kill your dad… Sadly I think if Pete were to try killing your father he would end up being the one who would get killed, wouldn’t your dad keep a dagger on him like you used to? Just in case someone were to attack?”

“I don’t know… I mean I know Pete isn’t as strong as my dad… If someone had said they were going to be in a fight before this I would have laughed in their face but he has been ill and that would have weakened him a lot, he is still recovering at the moment and he hasn’t done any fighting for a long time, for all I know Pete could have been practising while I was off with Zhan Tiri, he has seemed to have gotten much stronger than he used to be,” Cassandra said.

“I really hope it does not happen at all, it’s scary that there is something that possesses people to do such a thing, I’m sure Eugene will find him soon and find a way to make him better to,” Rapunzel said.

Cassandra sighed as he put a hand over her face, she only wished things could be that simple but it never worked out that way. “The world could be ending right now and you would be like it’s okay… We can save it! How can you be so optimistic?”

Rapunzel shrugged. “I guess that’s just the way I am but there have been times I’ve been scared… You remember those red rocks that made people see their worst fears?”

“Yeah, what about them?” Cassandra asked.

“Well, what I saw when I looked into them was Corona in ruin, there is this huge fire that killed many people and you walked away from me through the flames,” Rapunzel replied. “For a while, I was afraid that would happen when it came to the final battle… I was also afraid that Zhan Tiri would win, painfully kill everyone with the decay incantation and take over Corona... I didn’t show my fear a lot because as Princess I needed to stay strong for the people to keep them going as they were terrified that they were going to lose and die.”

Cassandra blinked, she hadn’t thought of it like that, sure she was happy go lucky a lot of the time but she was brave when she had to be even when it looked like all hope was lost she brought her fighting spirit back and then they had brought down the demon that towered over them by working together, they had to do the same again to get through this. Rapunzel repressed her fear just like she used to hide her anger and it looked like she was not the only one who had gotten into that habit even the softest person she knew had a deep-seated rage. “You fought well Raps if another ancient demon awakens they better be prepared to be burned.”

Rapunzel chuckled under her breath. “Yeah, but I would never have been able to do it without you there with me, no matter what anyone says about you, Cass… You will always be a hero to me.”

Cassandra gasped, no one had ever called her that before, she faced her with her tearful eyes widened and her jaw slightly dropped. “Y-Y-You think I’m a h-hero?”

“Yes, we both are!” Rapunzel exclaimed then taken a gentle hold of her hand and looked into her grey eyes. “We started this thing together and that is how we will finish it... I promise I will do everything I can to save you from the real monsters here.”

Cassandra smiled, touched by the Princess’ kind words. “Thank you so much, Rapunzel.”

Rapunzel nodded and given her best friend a hug. “You’re welcome,” she whispered in her ear then brought herself back up, she opened her bag and pulled out her old owl plushie. “I thought I would give you this to comfort you, I’m guessing this was a gift from your dad when you were little.”

Cassandra stared at the grey owl, she had not seen it for a long time, it reminded her of her pet owl who she also missed so much as she stroked the fabric fur on the wing. “Yeah… He had given it to me years ago, maybe for my birthday or just something to try and cheer me up.”

“That’s sweet, I imagine you had some really fun times together,” Rapunzel said.

Cassandra nodded. “We did… He used to take me to the stables to see the horses and foals, go to the seaside on his day off, we let off a lantern, he had given me horse riding lessons alongside the rookie guards, taught me sword fighting, self-defence moves, we used to have dinner together in his office to.”

Rapunzel smiled, even though she had no fond childhood memories with Gothel like that she was glad she did, she guessed that was why David had wished for a four-year-old Cassandra rather than one that was the same age as the real one, he thought that by reliving those childhood days he would avoid whatever mistakes he had made then and she would turn out better as an adult. “That sounds lovely, it’s great that he taught you how to defend yourself rather than be overbearing on you like mine does.”

Cassandra sighed. “He wanted me to have the ability to survive independently because life is short so he will not always be there to save me, he needed me to be prepared for when he passes away and there have been times I’ve gotten into dangerous situations when he was not around or able to do anything to help me right away.”

Rapunzel nodded. “I never thought about it like that but you’re right and although he was also a bit controlling of you, he was only hard when he had to be to keep you safe, he never wanted to hold you back on your dreams but was restricted to what he could do… I guess he was hesitant to put you on as a full-time guard because he didn’t want you to see the dark sides of the job like the executions that could have been very traumatising for you.”

“I think I could have avoided the hangings… I don’t think he ever had Stan and Pete do that, they probably would have ended up fainting,” Cassandra said.

“Stan, yeah… Not so sure about Pete though, he does seem to be a bit harder than him,” Rapunzel said.

Cassandra shrugged, she was not sure what kind of person he was anymore, she had found herself wondering if he really was as innocent as he appeared to be.

“Anyway… I have to go now but take care, remember what Stan told you before… Stand tall, keep your head up, hold your sword tight and kick those guys butts!” Rapunzel cheered.

Cassandra had let out a little laugh as she thought of the other goofy guard or at least he used to be. “Yeah… I’ll do that.”

“You’ve got this Cass, he will not get away with this!” Rapunzel exclaimed.

“You’re sure about that?” Cassandra asked.

Rapunzel nodded. “Yep, something has to give… Maybe when Stan regains his memory he can tell us just what has been going on, he must have found out otherwise what would have been the point in wiping it out from his mind?”

* * *

03:30 PM   
Captain's Office 

Eugene sighed as he entered his office and ran a hand through his hair as the room was still a wreck. “Damn it, Pete, did you have to trash my office?” He muttered, he was very fed up after spending hours searching for him when he had so many other things he needed to do, it had thrown his plan up in the air. He groaned as he put his table back up with Greg then walked to the other side and brought his chair back to its spot behind it, they then went around and gathered the papers that were scattered everywhere. “There was no need for this… Why did he think we were trying to poison him? He should know me by now, I would never do that.”

Greg shrugged. “It’s sad what has happened to him… I guess that’s what this kind of potion does, make someone blow things all out of proportion and act irrationally, I’m glad Xavier is alright… He was very hurt when he kicked him, I still find it shocking that he thought he would do such a thing, we know Xavier, he would never try to kill him.”

“Yeah, it’s very worrying how quickly he had turned on everyone… When I had first seen him this morning he seemed okay… Still sour and hurt but he did not seem that angry,” Eugene said. “In a way, I feel sorry for him, he is playing into the hands of whoever had put him on this in the first place and he can’t see that!”

“Yeah, they have got him real good this time… When he is over this are you going to let him back on the guard?” Greg asked.

Eugene sighed, he wanted to but he was not sure it was the right thing to do. “I would like to… We will have to see how he goes, see if his behaviour improves when the potion is out of his system.”

Greg nodded as that sounded fair to him. “Right, sir… Hopefully, we won’t have this incident again and he will learn to be careful with what he drinks, it’s not the first time he has made that kind of mistake.”

“Captain!”

Eugene groaned as he heard the voice of one of his men again as he knocked on the door. “Come in!”

His heart sunk when he had seen Joe at the door, the last guard he knew was with Cassandra other than Stan, for a moment he thought something horrible had happened to her again. “What’s wrong?”

Joe sighed as he bowed his head then looked back at him. “It’s Stan, I don’t know what happened but he… He can’t remember anything even meanings of words like castle, dungeon and painting… He has even forgotten what a guard is!”

Eugene facepalmed, although he was relieved that Cassandra was not harmed again his frustration grew as it seemed like he couldn’t even leave them for ten minutes without something going wrong or even a few hours!

“Where is he now?”

“In the infirmary, Nigel suggested that I had the medics check him out as it may have been a result from a head injury, he was missing his helmet when I had seen him in the dungeon blocks,” Joe replied.

Eugene sighed as he put the papers back on his desk then turned back to him, he had planned to check on Cass but he guessed that would have to wait until a bit later. “Okay… I’ll go and see him.”

* * *

**03:40 PM**

_Throne Room_

It was not long until word got around that a rogue guard was on the loose as once Rapunzel came across the throne room she had heard people shouting and yelling at her dad just like they did when Varian attacked, she peeked through from one side of the doorway to see what the commotion was about. There were guards who had to keep them back as they all crowded around and wanted to have their voice heard.

“People! Trust me, Captain Eugene is doing all he can to bring the situation under control, he will find him soon!” Frederic called out.

“What if it’s too late by the time he’s caught? Your guards are not as good as the ones in Equis! They couldn’t even stop Cassandra when she attacked!” One man shouted out.

“Peter is not like Cassandra, he does not possess any magical abilities however, at the moment he is not in a good mindset so he is still dangerous, all I can advise you is to not approach him but if you do come across him proceed with caution!” Frederic said.

“What if he has a knife? A sword or a crossbow? He could still kill us if he wants to!” Another man yelled.

“There are going to be extra guards on night patrol, if he does attack, they will step in and protect you,” Frederic said.

“Ha! That’s a laugh, they are all weak! He would probably end up killing them to!” The man retorted.

“Where is the Captain? He should be here!”

“He has been busy searching for Peter… He has only just returned, he will be joining us shortly,” Frederic replied.

“We’re doomed! Doomed I tell you, we have a killer on the run!” Felspar cried as he pulled his hair. “I’m too young to die!”

“Pipe down!” Crowley snapped. “We’re doomed I tell you.”

Frederic sighed as she had just made things worse as this lead the other people to panic more, some thought he was going to go and somehow kill everyone. “Listen to me, everyone! I know you are scared after everything that has happened to us, I assure you as your King and as your brother, I will do everything in my power to protect you... Even if that sadly means I will have to give the order of shoot to kill.”

Rapunzel gasped, she had never heard him say that before… Not even with Cassandra, she really hoped it would not get that far, she was lucky to get her best friend back, she would hate to see Stan go through the pain of losing a close friend, she could only imagine the shock he would have felt if he was there to see this had he not lost his memory.

* * *

**07:30 PM**

_The Poisoned Apple_   
  
  


“Unbelievable!” Ivy growled as she bursted into the pub. “Someone will pay for this!”

“What the devil?” An elderly man said as he had seen her storm to the other side of the room.

“What happened?” Raven asked, he looked similar to Andrew but concealed his head under a hood with a red and black robe.

“She failed,” Mel teased as she smirked wickedly at her, she was a tall slender woman with short shoulder length raven hair, her cape and other clothing was also black.

“Everybody just calm down,” Shadow Man said.

“It wasn’t just this Cassandra that was poisoned last week,” Ivy said as she clenched her fists and glared at them all.

“Who else did he attack?” The elderly man asked.

“The other prisoners!” Ivy shouted.

“The Royal Guards poisoned the prisoners? Are they even allowed to do that?” Hook asked like Hook Hand he had a hook in place of his hand, he had long curly black hair, wore a crimson jacket, black trousers and boots.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if the King had put them to it, he has always had it in for us… Undesirables,” the hunchback guy said.

“My brother is in there!” A man yelled.

“My sister is in there!” Lady Rose cried.

“Our friends!” A few people cried

“Lady Cain!” The hunchback guy cried.

“Okay, okay y’all calm down,” Shadow Man said as he emerged from his corner.

“Calm down? How do you expect us to keep cool when our loved ones and friends are being murdered!” Mal shouted as she slammed her hand on the table.

“How do you know they have been affected? He did not say anything about other prisoners,” an elderly man asked.

“I do get out you know, I heard another pair of Royal Dogs talking about it,” Ivy said. “The geeky boy and the old blacksmith have been working to make a cure but whether they survive or not they have to be punished!”

“Yeah, we’ll get him for hurting our leader! She was not sentenced to death!” The hunchback yelled. The remaining members of the gang nodded in agreement.

“Let’s break into the castle again and attack! The guard has been weak since the battle with Zhan Tiri, they won’t stand a chance,” Raven said.

“No, let’s track them down and kill them ourselves!”

“You do not have to do anything, they will get their just desserts.”

The thugs paused and looked at Shadow Man as he sat on the end chair with his elbows on the table and his fingers interlocked.

“What do you mean?” Mel asked as she glared at him.

“The Captain won’t care, neither would the King, he hates us, that’s why we attacked in the first place!” Raven yelled.

“Why were you being so friendly with them before? How could you have not known he had poisoned them all with the Sleeping Beauty potion?” Ivy asked. “You can see the past, the present and the future!”

Shadow Man chuckled darkly. “I’m like a cat, I like to play with my prey... I know he will not get away with this, he is foolish enough to not see how unpredictable The Hate Potion is, one thing you must not do is mess with someone on it as by winding him up he will turn his buddy into his worst enemy, you know what they say pride comes before the fall.”

“You really think he can take him on? With his spaghetti arms?” Hook asked. “Haha, there's no way he would be able to defeat him!”

“You will be very surprised what that guy is capable of,” Shadow Man replied.

The other thugs did not look convinced. “What about the other one? The one who dropped the poison in the first place?” Mel asked.

“How about you give him a taste of his own medicine?” An unfamiliar voice spoke up. 

They had all frozen and turned to the door which was wide open but they could not make out the figure in the shadowy corridor.  
"Show yourself, Shadow Boy!" Shadow Man called out.   
Some of them gasped when the mysterious figure emerged, it was the skinny guard they had just been talking about.   
"You have a nerve showing up in here! Kill him!" Ivy yelled. 

Raven and another guy charged towards him, Pete grabbed Raven by the arm and tossed him over like a rag doll then pinned the other guy down with a candle holder. "You really do not want to mess with me right now... I've had a very bad day!" 

"Why should we trust you? You are one of those guards!" Hook exclaimed. 

"I'm not a Royal Dog anymore... I had quit this morning, sick of them messing me around, I got tricked into taking some kind of potion by him that has been making me sick and they were going to poison me to get rid of me," Pete said with a growl. "He just used me to get whatever he wanted like everyone else in my damn life!" 

“That's right... You're as much of a victim in this as those poor people are," Raven said as he got himself back up and pat his shoulder. "I'm sorry for being rash with you."   
"It's fine... You didn't know," Pete replied.   
"I like the sound of that, it's simple and we could easily dispose of him after," Shadow Man said as he looked down into his mug.   
  
"When shall I do it?" Mel asked. 

"Next time he comes in," Pete replied then glanced out through the window. "You know what they say, what goes around, comes around." 


	18. Monster

**Monday 10:00 PM**

_Main Study Room_

“I don’t usually leave the asylum this late at night but your advisor told me you would make it worth my while,” Mr Grey said as he gestured towards Nigel. He was an elderly man, he had bags under his eyes, wrinkles and long off white hair, he wore a brown jacket, a white shirt with a loosely tied black tie, black trousers and boots, in his hand he held a small bag of coins that he had given him. 

“I have a problem with one of my former guardsmen, Peter, he has unfortunately taken a bad turn after the battle with Zhan Tiri... The trauma has taken a heavy toll on him, some of the men have raised concerns about his... Wellbeing,” Frederic said.“He has been extremely aggressive lately as he had assaulted them along with one of the locals then made a mess of the Captain’s office and escaped, he poses a great risk to my people.”

“The Captain is naive, thinking he can make him better, we have already been hurt by the likes of him before... We do not want it to happen again,” Nigel said.

Mr Grey nodded and eyed the coin in his hand. “When the guards return him you wish for me to come and take him to the asylum instead of keeping him here as the Captain wished to do? Is this perhaps to cover up the fact that you have been on a mood potion yourself?”

Frederic and Nigel nodded.

“Well, we all know what happened last time a guard had taken the Hate Potion... I do not wish a repeat of that,” Frederic said.

“Indeed, that was an awful tragedy, Your Majesty... Notify me once he has been captured,” Mr Grey said as he dropped the coin back in the bag then walked off.

“I will send you a letter,” Nigel said then gestured to pair of guards to discreetly escort Mr Grey out of the castle.

* * *

** 10:30 PM  **

_Old Corona Woods_

Dan, Jack, Harry, Tom, John and Rob were on night patrol around Old Corona half of them had gone into the woods in search for him.

“There he is!” Dan yelled and pointed to the shadowed male figure ahead of them, the others followed his lead with their swords out.

“You won’t get away so easy!” John yelled he was so focused he did not see the string tied between two trees he and a couple of others tripped over it and fell into a hole.

“My back!” One of them cried out.

“My leg!”

“My arm!”

Dan growled as he looked watched them over his shoulder then turned back to the figure. “Think you’re clever do ya, Pete? Just wait till we get you back to the castle, you’re going to be in a load of trouble!”

“Ahh!” Jack and Tom screamed as they had fallen into the same trap.

Dan rolled his eyes then kept a lookout for more traps, he found it strange how he had not heard a response from him. Once he got close he put a hand on his arm and turned him around as it turned out it was a dummy. 

“Ah come on!”

“Haha, I could watch these idiots all day,” Pete laughed as he watched them from a distance with The Shadow Man.

“Yeah, it’s funny they used to call you the idiot... They had fallen for simple tricks like this,” Shadow Man said with a chuckle under his breath then looked back at Pete. “Are you going to go down and say hello to your old workmate?”

“Fine,” Pete muttered then walked towards him, light on his feet and stuck to the shadows until the right moment came for him to strike.

“Show yourself, Pete! I’m getting really tired of this!” Dan yelled as he walked further down the bank, he looked forward, left and right but did not think to look behind again as he neared the bridge.

“Hey, Dan,” Pete said once he was back to back with him, he pulled his sword out and lashed out at him.

Dan only managed to get a couple of hits then lost his hold on it but before he had a chance to get it Pete kicked him in the stomach, knocking him onto his back as he got himself back up Pete dashed to the bridge, Dan got back into action, grabbed his sword and chased after him but just as he got halfway through the bridge Pete slashed it. He screamed as he fell into the river, he struggled to stay up as the bronze armour put extra weight on him. He panted as the water carried him off, he couldn’t see where he was going as he had gotten water in his eyes and chocked on a bit of it.

“H-Help! S-somebody! Help!”

Pete watched with a cold-hearted look in his eyes as the current carried him further down then turned away. “Bye Dan.”

Dan’s heart hammered in his chest as he tried desperately to stay up, he searched for something, anything to grab a hold of as he neared the waterfall, he came across a large rock and held onto it for dear life, he panted as he looked back at the direction he remembered he was in but there was no sign of him. After seeing his dark side taking over he had started to regret those years of bullying him, he guessed he should not have been surprised by the way he and George had created a monster.

* * *

**Tuesday 09:30 AM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra sighed as she laid on her bed even though the chat with Rapunzel had cheered her up a bit she still felt anxious as the guards failed to find Pete and the longer he was out there the more she worried about her dad and what could happen to him if he found his former worker, she could not understand why he would hold such a grudge against him. What could he have done to make him so angry he would be driven to attack? She had thought about Rapunzel’s points on her dad being the stronger fighter and would not likely be defenceless but there was still that seed of doubt that haunted her through nightmares.

“Hey, Cass, how are you doing?” Eugene asked as he entered her cell, he had often taken the time to pass through to check on her and the other prisoners along with a couple of other guards who he had gotten to know and trusted the most.

Cassandra breathed another sigh and glanced through the window. “Oh, how am I doing? Okay, I guess… Although I had almost been poisoned to death, there’s the possibility that my friend’s dad, the King, might still kill me anyway after my trial that I have in three weeks and I am nowhere near prepared for, have you seen how long the list of my charges is? The one other guard I trust is now out of action because someone had given him amnesia and one of your men has gone off the rails and might just kill my father… How are you this fine morning?”

Eugene blinked and backed away. “W-What? Why do you think Pete will kill your dad?”

“I don’t know! For some reason he is really mad at him, I keep seeing him in this… State, he looks really creepy, he sneaks up to my dad, they argue and fight, the kicks him and-“ Her voice trailed off as though she could not bring herself to say it.

“Kills him?” Eugene asked.

Cassandra closed her eyes and nodded, she sat up with her knees against her chest and arms wrapped around her legs. “I don’t like the person he is turning into Eugene… He’s like… A monster… Last night you said Xavier told you that some of his rage is natural so that means he does hate my dad enough to go and hurt him given half the chance.”

Eugene sighed then sat himself down on the edge of the bed and looked straight at her. “Hey, I know he is in a bad way right now but I swear I will do everything I can to protect your father, I will put a stop to this before it goes that far… I’m about to go on another search for Pete with the guys, he’s bound to show up somewhere and when he does I will deal with him.”

“How can you be so sure? What if he has already done it?” Cassandra asked as she moved her hands to her head and tears leaked from her eyes. “W-What if he had done it last night?”

Eugene had to try hard to keep himself calm as she started to panic as the poor woman had another anxiety attack coming up. “Cass, Cass, you’re dad is going to be alright, nothing bad is going to happen to him… I have men watching out for him every night, there is no way Pete will get to him.”

“You really think they can stop him?” Cassandra asked.

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh as he turned his head away from her and looked at the floor. “Well, Frederic said that if he does attack guards are to shoot him with a crossbow.”

Cassandra lifted her head as like Rapunzel her eyes widened and her jaw dropped slightly. “W-What?”

“Yeah… It’s drastic, I had tried to make him take it back but he refuses, he said he wants to prevent another disaster… I’m afraid there will be a misunderstanding like there was with you at the Goodwill Festival,” Eugene replied.

“Wow, he had never done that before… He must be really scared of him to but that does seem extreme, he did not even do that to me,” Cassandra said.

Eugene shrugged. “He has odd ways of dealing with people… I will try to calm down the situation first before it gets out of hand, I just hope I won’t be too late… I would hate to tell Stan that he has been killed… It will break his heart.”

Cassandra nodded. “Yeah, that was one thing Dad was afraid of when I was the Blue Monster… Killing seems to be his answer to everything.”

“Yeah, it’s scary, one thing I’m dreading is my first execution… I’m going to have another person’s blood on my hands… I wish he would just scrap it but it seems unlikely,” Eugene said.

Cassandra nodded. “It’s been a thing in Corona for a long time and I don’t see it ending before Rapunzel’s time starts… I think Stan would have resigned from the guard if he had not gotten amnesia, I know he would not have the heart to face his best friend in battle… They have been together for a very long time and I’ve never seen two guards as close as they were.”

“Yeah, I had expected him to do that to… Not that I can blame him as Pete meant as much to him as you do to your dad… Although they are not blood-related they had a brotherly kind of love, it would be too painful for him to seriously fight him and possibly see him get killed, I have seen it for a while that he had been torn between his duty as a guard and his heart,” Eugene said. “If the worst happens I don’t know how I am going to start breaking it to him.”

Cassandra looked back at him with a saddened look on her face, she had just started warming up to Stan, he had been so kind and tried so hard to help her, he did not deserve this.

Eugene nodded. “The doc said there was nothing he could do, Woodlock had look at him this morning, he managed to help him regain some of his memory… He’s still confused, he didn’t recognise me or believe I was the Captain now, it seems like his mind has gone back thirteen years.”

Cassandra was quiet for a moment as tears slid down her face, it looked like the poor man was going to lose his job and his wife now had to care for him. “Oh… I guess that means you will have to let him go.”

Eugene shrugged. “I hope not, maybe he will get better in time like Frederic and Arianna… His wife wants to care for him so he will be taken back home today, we’ll just have to see how it goes.” He put on a small smile as he put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her grey eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this, everything will turn out alright in the end both for you and your father.”

Cassandra felt a knot in her stomach as he got himself up and walked towards the door, she was not sure if it would be that easy. A part of her was afraid of something going wrong like Eugene getting hurt or worst still killed even though they had never been best of friends she still cared about him. “Eugene.”

He paused for a moment and turned around. “Yeah?”

“Be careful… Pete could be far gone now, neither of us are entirely sure how this Hate Potion works... I had talked to Joe yesterday, he said his eyes turned red and he was like a monster… That was just what he was like in my nightmares as though he was in a trance, he did not even seem to realise what he was doing,” Cassandra said.

“I see… We’ll just have to try and snap him out of it before it’s too late,” Eugene said then exited her cell and joined a group of his men outside the dungeons.

“Captain!” One of the men spoke up.

“What happened?” Eugene frowned as he found the terrified look on Will’s face concerning.

“Pete has been sighted in Old Corona last night, in the outskirts, by the river… He had trapped some of the men who were on last night’s search,” Will replied.

“That son of a witch had tried to kill Daniel! He got him to step onto the bridge then cut it off, he was going to leave him to drown in the river!” George shouted. “If that is not evil to you, I don’t know what is!”

“He had a weapon?” Eugene asked.

“No, he tore the roped bridge with his bare hands! Of course, he had a weapon, a sword! He also struck Dan to then kicked him, he’s sick which is why he is unable to come into work today!”

Eugene sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve heard… I will deal with him later, hopefully, we will be successful with our search today.”

George scowled as he glared him. “How can you be so calm about this? He had turned against us and could have killed one of us! Who knows who else is on his hit list, it could even be you!”

“It would not do us any good for me to lose my cool… Believe me, you won’t like me when I am angry and you are on thin ice!” Eugene said sternly.

“He had almost killed one of our men and you are worried about Pete’s safety?” George yelled.

“Know your place, George, I am the Captain now and you are a regular guard! Do not take that tone with me again!” Eugene shouted. “If I find out that it was you who had spiked Pete’s drink, given King Frederic the Hate Potion and made Stan lose his memory, you are going to be in a load of trouble!”

“I never do that kind of thing! Why is it I always get the blame for everything?” George shouted.

“You don’t, usually that’s Pete… That’s possibly why he had snapped,” Joe said. “He is quite a few things but he’s not a murderer.”

“He had almost strangled you, Joe, he clearly wanted to kill you!” George said in a raised voice.

“Enough! I do not have time for any more petty squabbles when I have serious issues to deal with!” Eugene yelled then turned to the other men. “Joe, Matt, Phil, Greg, let’s go, we’re heading to Old Corona today! Will, you watch out for any funny business going on here!”

Will saluted and turned to George as he glared at them then stormed out in a temper. 

* * *

**10:30 AM**

_Corona High Street_

David walked through the town with his hood up, he still did not feel confident enough to be open in public although he did get odd looks from some people most did not take any notice.

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that Lil... Poor Stan,” Monty said.

David paused at the sound of the elderly shopkeeper, he had seen him with Lily and Stan on the fountain, he looked like he had never been in Corona before as he stared at his surroundings in confusion, the shops were different and other things that were not there before. David then turned around again, he did not want to hear another rant about how bad he had been as a father which was rich coming from a man who had never raised a child in his life.

“No one knows how it happened... There was this magic man who tried to help him, he was only able to recover some of his memories but he didn’t even remember me! He’s years behind in his mind as he doesn’t remember being a guard either,” Lily exclaimed. “I don’t know how we are going to manage if he gets struck off... That will be most of our income gone, I don’t make much as a florist.”

“I know, I know,” Monty said as he patted her shoulder. “Hey, if there’s anything you need just let me know.”

Lily nodded and smiled. “Thank you, Monty.”

“You’re very welcome, you two are like family to me... It’s a shame Peter did not see it that way,” Monty said with a sigh. “He welcomed him into his home and this is how he repays him now? He's suffering and- and he is just going to leave him, he’s as bad as that Cassandra... Some people are so ungrateful!”

Lily sighed as she bowed her head, she did not want to go into that, she then glanced over her shoulder and to her horror, Stan was gone. "Stan!" she bolted up as she tried to search through the bustling crowd. “Stan!”

“Stan!” Monty shouted out as he got up and followed her a few paces behind.

David turned around and scanned through the scene of the busy town and within minutes spotted him up the street, he had taken a deep breath then rushed through careful not to run into anyone, he refrained from shouting out his name so not to scare him. He sighed as he had seen him turn a corner putting him out of sight but was confident he could get to him before he got too far.

“My husband’s missing! He’s suffering from memory loss, please help me!” Lily cried.

Most people just stopped and stared at her, he had heard Monty call out his name several more times which was pointless as he did not take any notice or realise he was talking to him.

“Stan... Are you okay?” David asked as he found him in the alleyway where the Stabbingtons had tied him and Pete up, Stan turned and blinked several times as he looked at him as though trying to work out if he knew him although all that had changed was his hair had gotten shorter, his moustache was longer and he had grown a beard, he still did not appear to recognise him.

“W-who are you?”

“My name is David... I was the Captain of the Royal Gaurd,” David replied.

“D-David,” Stan said, he stared off into space, he did not know why but that name did ring a bell. “David.”

“That’s right... Do you remember when I saved your mother from those thugs?” David asked. That was the day they met, what got him to try out for the guard in the first place, he knew he did not remember being a guard but wanted to see how far back his mind was.

Stan paused for a moment as he tried to think back to that day, he appeared to struggle but then it seemed to hit him, he then nodded. “You’re David?”

David nodded. “Yeah... I suppose I have changed quite a bit over the years, that was a long time ago, do you remember the lost princess?”

“Princess... Ra-Ra,” Stan stammered and his brow furrowed as he struggled to recall her name.

“Rapunzel, she’s all grown up now, she had been found a year ago,” David said.

“She’s a child!” Stan said.

“She was a six-year-old child... Thirteen years ago,” David said.

“W-what?” Stan looked at him in confusion as he wondered how she could be grown up now.

“It’s 1831 now Stan, a lot of things have changed since 1818... I can see why you are so confused right now,” David said. He sighed as Stan slumped on the floor and put his head in his hands, the poor guy was lost in more ways than one. It was like he had just woken up and the whole world had changed. He moved closer to him,knelt beside him and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’s going to be okay... It will be hard but you will get there soon.”

Stan shakily raised his head and looked at him teary-eyed. “Really?”

David nodded and gently rubbed his shoulder. “Yeah... You’ve always had my back so I’m going to have yours.”

Stan smiled as he looked at his former Captain, although he did not know it at that moment. “Thank you.”

“No problem... You’re going to get through this one way or another,” David said then got up and held out a hand to him. “There’s a lovely lady who is going to be looking after you to, she needs you back.”

“L-Lily... She said she’s my wife,” Stan said.

“That’s right, you got married shortly after joining the guard,” David said.

“I was a guard?” Stan asked.

David nodded. “You were, one of my best men actually, although you did have some flaws at least I could trust you when it mattered to do your best and get the job done.”

Stan smiled, although he was still confused he still felt touched by his words as let him help him up, David put a hand back on his shoulder as he led him out of the alleyway and reunited him with his wife. 

“Stan!” Lily cried as she ran up to him with Monty and Attila a few paces behind, she put a hand over her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Dave!”

“No problem, he's just overwhelmed because everything seems to have changed to him, he didn’t even recognise me at first,” David said, he then turned to Stan and gestured to Lily. “It’s alright Stan, we’re here for you.”

Lily had taken a hold of Stan’s hand and looked into his dark brown eyes. “I know you’re scared and confused, it’s okay, you’re safe with me.”

“L-Lily.” Stan stammered nervously as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him into a hug.

“No matter what I won’t give up on you,” she said in a soft voice. “You are my husband, Stanley and I will always love you.”

A small smile appeared on Stan’s face as he accepted her hug and put his arms around her waist.

Most people watched in awe at the couple, Monty had broken down into tears, Attila whimpered as he even dapped a handkerchief through the eyehole in his bucket. David had found himself get a bit emotional as like Cass he had always thought “true love” was fairytale talk but this was real as she had not truly loved Stan she would have just dumped him and went off with another man but she was committed to sticking by him through it all even though it seemed like all hope was lost. 

* * *

**03:30 PM**

Castle Dungeons

“Know your place, George... If I hear that phrase one more time!” He growled then slammed his helmet against the table.“The cheek, I’ve been on the guard for almost as long as he has been alive, he even cheated on the final day! That idiot David picked him to be Captain and his stupid daughter brought that demon over and led my mother to be killed!”

Will sighed as he looked at him with an arched brow. “Stop whining and get to work, these swords aren’t going to polish themselves... Poor Stan has lost his memory and could lose his job to if he doesn’t recover soon, his wife has to care for him alongside working, her wages as a florist will be all they have to live on now so if anyone should be crying it’s her!”

“Oh shut up Will!”

“I beg your pardon?” Will asked as frowned at him.

“Our men have been injured, he had tried to drown Dan, the guy is sick!” George shouted.

“Yeah, that’s why they are trying to find Pete again now... Eugene may be young but he is our Captain now whether we like it or not, you have to treat him with the utmost respect,” Will said, his eyes narrowed as he realised the incident with Stan and him happened just before the memory loss occurred. “Anyway what happened with you and Stan? Did you hit him on the head or something?”

“No!”

“Okay so how do you suppose he had suddenly lost all of his memories? You were the last person I had seen him with and you were at it for quite a while,” William asked.

“The idiot must have knocked his head on something,” George said.

“Hmm... Hit more like, I wouldn’t put it past you... How come when something happens it is always you?” Will said as he put a hand on his hip. “You had one job and you screwed that up now I have to watch over you.”

“Like you’re one to talk, you were supposed to be guarding the Queen the night she was kidnapped!” George retorted.

“You have been acting suspiciously lately to,” Will said. “Seemed to have done a lot to split Stan and Pete up and look where they are now!”

“Be quiet!” George snapped.

“What are you going to do? Knock me out to?” Will asked.

“Don’t tempt me, William!” George growled as he picked up a sword. “You do not want to mess with me, those who do often encounter misfortune!”

Will gulped as he pointed the sword at his throat after Zhan Tiri he hoped he would not have to face another monster, he had not expected to see one right in front of him, on this day he learnt that they were not always a hybrid of two animals there were human ones around to. 

“You will do well to keep your mouth shut!”


	19. Thin Ice

Will gasped and his beady brown eyes widened in horror as he was unsure how to react, he heard about what happened to Stan when he had tried fighting back, he regretted leaving him now he understood the reason why he never expected him to be so brave. Will was one of the oldest men on the squad, he was coming close to his retirement age, he did not think he was strong enough to take him on. He wondered if it would be a good time to cry for help? He did not know if there were any other guys around at this time, what if he had hurt them to? He figured he would have to play along until Eugene came back though he did not know how he was going to get to him without getting caught. He had closed his eyes for a second and taken a deep breath. “Okay, okay I won’t say anything.”

“You swear?” George asked, his tone had a hint of a growl.

Will nodded and tried hard not to give any signs of lying as he stared him down.

“Hmm, I’ll be watching you, Will, I have a special way of dealing with snitches,” George threatened.

“Okay… Let’s just get this over with,” Will said as he turned his attention to the spears, he could not wait to get out of there, he hoped Eugene and the guys would be back soon, he jumped when he heard the door open, he turned and seen his old friend Ronald, he was about Frederic's height and build, he had a long moustache and trimmed beard which was mostly black with a few streaks of grey. 

"Hey, Will, His Majesty wants us to guard the Princess tonight, just in case Pete decides to randomly murder her." 

George scoffed. "You two are as bad as Stan and Pete, she will play you like a fiddle." 

Ron rolled his eyes then looked at Will again as the expression on his face screamed: "Help me!" 

"Is everything alright in here?" He asked as he leaned on the doorframe and arched an eyebrow. 

"Yeah, it's fine... Just getting the weapons ready for the next battle, won't be long till we're wielding these again," George said. 

"I wasn't talking to you," Ron said flatly. "You seem troubled Will, what's bothering you?"

Will gulped as he felt George's eyes burn into him, he opened his mouth to speak but the cat caught his tongue, he was still too scared to talk in front of him. 

Ron narrowed his eyes as he had grown more suspicious, he had a feeling he had something to do with it.

"I hope you are behaving yourselves in there!" Mrs Crowley shouted out as she stood at the doorway with her arms crossed. "One of you has been a very naughty boy!" 

"Yes, Mrs Crowley," the three of them said in unison even though she was just about half of their height it did not put her off from giving them a scolding, it did not matter how old they were she referred to them as "boys." 

"I'm watching you, there has been some funny business going on and I don't like it," Mrs Crowley said and glared at them. 

* * *

**04:00 PM**

_Corona High Street_

David had spent the day with Stan and Lily as they showed him around the town in a way that was safe when he looked at Lily again he noticed her waist had grown wider just like Arianna when she was having Rapunzel, his heart went out to the young lady, this should have the happiest time of her life but it was about to be her toughest as it was very difficult to care for someone with severe memory loss especially while working and bringing up a child.

“Yeah, we have a baby on the way… I’m in the early stages at the moment,” Lily said as she put a hand over her womb and kept her other hand on Stan’s so he did not wander off again. “We’ve been trying for a baby for a while now… We haven’t been successful, I either don’t get it or we lose it somewhere down the line, he kept quiet about it because he thought it would not be good to get our hopes up in case it goes wrong again.”

David sighed as he glanced at Stan, his eyes had widened and his jaw dropped slightly, the poor guy was overwhelmed first he learnt Lily was his wife and now he had just heard he was possibly about to be a father, he thought back on the first time Stan visited him, how he doubted he would ever get to be a dad, now he had seen what he meant. “I’m so sorry Lily, this is awful… I hope Stan recovers soon.”

Lily nodded. “Thank you, I’m trying to hold onto the hope that he does regain his memories somehow, I have been warned by the Magic Man that he may never recover… He suspects someone had overdosed with the Forgetfulness Potion, it causes brain damage that’s how it works, Eugene is still optimistic so he said he will give him a few weeks.” 

“That’s Eugene alright, just like the Princess… It’s horrible how people are being tricked into taking these dangerous potions, I hope the culprit will be caught soon,” David said.

“What? This was caused by a potion?” Monty exclaimed.

Lily shrugged. “It's a guess, no one knows for sure what has caused it… I've been worrying about him a lot even before this happened… Since the battle with the demon he had been struggling to sleep, he had gotten more anxious, when I brought Pete in after finding him drunk and passed out on the street he panicked because he thought he would hurt me and the baby as some of the men had been saying he’s been taking potions.”

David sighed as he rubbed his left arm and bowed his head. “Yeah, I can understand why he reacted like that, he has been on The Hate Potion which has been messing with his mind, made him act out of character then he had worsened over a few days… I had seen him once earlier, it’s not often I see him angry but he was filled with a rage I had never seen, there was something unnatural about it, Eugene had planned to put him in isolation until it had worn off naturally but he escaped.”

“There’s one for that?” Lily gasped.

“Yeah, it’s horrible… Xavier said it makes people turn violent and even paranoid, I know it will be hard but you must keep away from him until this is over, if you get too close he may lash out and albeit unintentionally hurt your baby,” David warned.

“If he ever dared to hurt a hair on Lily’s head I will call for the guards, the King said if he attacked anyone they are to shoot him!” Monty exclaimed.

At that moment David’s eyes widened, shocked that he would go that far when he has not done anything to the people before but supposed he wanted to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Lily had thrown a hand over her mouth as she gasped again, without thinking she had let go of Stan and stared at Monty. “What?”

Monty sighed as he unsympathetically shrugged his shoulders. “It’s sad I know but he has to put our safety first… He is capable of killing any of us, he had done it a few times before with criminals and now we know he has weapons they have to be prepared.”

“He’s jumping to conclusions! Pete would never kill anyone for no reason if anything he is scared… He does not understand what is wrong with him, that is why he has run away! He’s afraid someone is going to hurt him if the men come at him with their crossbows out he is going to panic and try to attack!” Lily cried. “When is he going to learn that killing is not the answer to everything, he needs help, he has been in a bad way for a while but did not get the help he needed because it just is not there!”

Monty sighed, he supposed she was just getting emotional because she was pregnant and was naive to believe that he would come around and get better.

David was about to interject then from the corner of his eye he had noticed an odd look on Stan’s face, his skin had gone pale, he had sweated more but the scariest part was the way his eyes rolled back just as he was about to faint, he jumped forward to catch him but Attila had beaten him to it and slowly lowered him down onto the ground and laid him on his back. They did not understand what had brought it on, was lightheadedness a side effect of this potion? Was he already sick?

“Stan!” Lily screamed as dropped onto her knees, she put the back of her hand against his forehead then touched his cheeks, she had noticed he was hot when she hugged him but she thought that was just because it was a very warm day. “Oh, my goodness, he’s burning up!”

David groaned as people gathered round to see what was going on, yet they ignored Lily’s cries when he had gone missing. “Move out! I said move out, nothing to see here! Give the poor man some space!”

A few had stuck around but most had followed his orders then Xavier ran over to them with a sack slumped over his shoulder. “What happened?”

“I-I don’t know! He was okay before then just fainted! I don’t know if it is because of that stupid potion or-or something else!” Lily cried, she put her hands over her eyes as tears streamed down her face. “I-I don’t know what to do!”

“I don’t know what to do either I don’t have much medical knowledge… What if he’s getting worse?” David asked.

Xavier knelt, put a hand under his chin and bent down just above his mouth and listened out for his breathing, much to his relief he could still sense it, he had taken his left arm and put it at a right angle with the palm facing up, he then taken his right arm and folded it back so his head could rest on his hand and held it in place. Next, he carefully bent his right knee and gently rolled him onto his side. “I had bent his arm to support his head and stretched the other out to stop him from rolling too far.” He carefully lifted his chin as tilted his head back to open his airway, he had taken a quick look to make sure nothing was blocking it and fortunately it was clear.

“He does appear to be feverish and lightheadedness is one of the effects of the Forgetfulness Potion, which sadly is incurable, he will never recover his lost memories,” Xavier said. “The heart can be helped but the brain… Not so much.”

Lily could not even bring herself to speak she was so scared, no terrified, that she was going to lose her husband, that this potion was going to kill him just after he had been robbed of his memories. The poor woman had broken down, David put an arm around her shoulder to comfort her as she leaned on him for support, he had a sinking feeling she would lose the baby with the amount of stress that she was going to be put through. He found himself get as outraged as he was when Cassandra had been poisoned. There was no need for this as if they had not been through enough already this person made it a hundred times worse! He thought he ought to say something to try and calm her but words failed him, he could not really say it was going to be "okay" or that he would be "alright" after she had just been told he had no hope of a full recovery. He guessed just giving her a shoulder to lean on was enough, he gently rubbed her's as he kept an eye on Stan's condition while they waited for Xavier and Attila as they looked for someone who could give him more help. 

* * *

** 04:30  **

_ Throne Room _

Frederic groaned as he seated himself down on the throne, with Nigel by his side as per usual, he sternly looked at the group of guards who were on the latest search stood in front of him, his patience ran thin with them, he was very unimpressed with their incompetence as they had yet again failed to capture Pete, he had requested them to meet him without the Captain, he would be dealing with him separately later.  "Are you sure you have looked far enough in the woods?" 

"Yes, Your Highness, there was no sign of him," Joe replied.  "We have no idea where he is hiding but perhaps the night patrol would have more success as he tends to act out then, I suppose it is easier for him to sneak around." 

"Have you asked the locals if they have seen him anywhere? Perhaps someone is housing him to keep him from getting caught, does he have any personal connections to Old Corona?" Frederic asked. 

"He was at the orphanage there Your Highness," Joe replied. "Other than that he does not have any connections, his family had died out years ago as both of his parents are deceased, he was an only child and has no other living relatives." 

"What about friends?" Frederic asked. 

Joe had shaken his head. "No... His only friend has been Stanley but since the incident yesterday he no longer remembers him or anyone for that matter... It is likely he is alone now." 

"Hmm," Frederic hummed as he stroked his beard and wondered where he could be, he knew his guards were not very good at searching for people. "Do you think it's possible that you could find him quicker than eighteen years?" 

Joe sighed as he knew that was a dig at them for failing to find his daughter if it were not for Eugene they would still be looking for her to this day. "Yes, Your Highness, we will do our best to catch him... Our priority is to keep the people of Old Corona safe and we need to be ready to act should Peter decide to attack." 

The men jumped when they heard the throne room doors slam open, they turned and seen Rapunzel with a furious look on her face as she had her arms spread out as she bursted in. 

"She sure knows how to make an entrance," Rob whispered to John, who nodded and rolled his eyes as though to say: "Here we go." 

At that moment Frederic bolted from his throne and stared at her as she charged down the aisle.

"You are forgetting the risks he poses to himself, he is not of sound mind right now, he is alone and could be hurt... He is not just angry, he is scared and confused, he thinks we are all out to get him if you send the men out there with crossbows aimed at him before he has even done anything he will naturally panic and lash out. They made that mistake before with Cassandra when she came to the Goodwill Festival, all she was doing was talking and that is hardly a crime, I had told them to stand down but none of them listened!" She stopped when she got beside Joe and shot a glare at Rob, John and the other men. 

"Rapunzel, you do not understand, Peter has been taking dangerous potions and fallen back into unhealthy drinking habits which have led him to have these delusions, he has somehow gotten access to weaponry and may be planning to attack the villagers or us," Frederic said. "He has to be stopped before he goes too far." 

"Listen, Dad, he has no reason to attack the people or us, we have not done anything to upset him, he has been gone for almost two days and he has only attacked the guards... Those are the only people who make him feel threatened, we need to approach him carefully and calmly not ambush him as that would only make things worse," Rapunzel said. "For all, we know he could be under another person's control, he could have been tricked into taking those potions the first time and been manipulated into taking more which would explain how he has gotten so sick, you should not be judging before hearing the facts. You have no idea what he has been through, I do not even know, maybe he had gone back into drinking because he did not know how to deal with the pain he has been feeling, not everyone is as fortunate as us and can afford to seek help for their health! He is in a vulnerable state right now and needs serious help, not hunted down like some wild animal!" 

Frederic sighed as the frustration he felt with his idealistic daughter had grown bigger. "Stay out of this Rapunzel, this does not concern you and the situation is being handled." 

"You see how I have some trouble with trusting you to handle Peter's situation after witnessing how badly you have been handling Cassandra's case? Is it too much to ask for some sympathy from the big and mighty King?" Rapunzel retorted as she came up the small flight of stairs and got up close to her father. 

Frederic had taken a deep breath as he tried to keep his temper at bay and changed his expression to one of fear so she may understand where he was coming from. "I know these past few months have been very difficult and this is upsetting for you." He put a hand on her shoulder as though to comfort her but it did not make her feel any better. "More important than any past disagreements, more important than anything at all... Is your safety, my sister was killed by a former guardsman who had gone rogue and I would not be able to live with myself if I failed to save you from that fate," he moved his hand back and put both of them behind him as he continued. "In light of the situation with the Hate Potion, it is with a heavy heart that I make this decision... Until the threat of Peter has been neutralised, you are to remain under constant surveillance in the most secure room in the castle... Your bedroom." 

Rapunzel gasped in shock as those were the exact words he had said when Varian first attacked them, she could not believe that he had even considered locking her up again. "Dad, no! Did you not listen to what I had just said? I know Pete has no intention of attacking us, I refuse to stay locked up in my room again!" 

"I was not giving you a choice, you do not know Peter personally! I am not willing to spare his feelings at the expense of your safety!" Frederic said in a raised voice then turned to the guards nearest to him, ones who unlike those he had just lost were not easily distracted or blabbermouths. "Johnathan, Robert, take Rapunzel to her room and guard her door, she is not to leave until dinner time!" 

"What no!" Rapunzel exclaimed that meant she would not have a chance to see Eugene or Cassandra again like she had planned to, within minutes the pair of guards slipped their arms over hers. "Get off me!" 

"Okay, Princess, just walk in front of us so we can watch over you," Robert said as he patted her shoulder. 

"Don't talk to me like a child!" Rapunzel said harshly. 

"Just doing my job unlike that loser you're getting yourself so upset over I will keep you from wandering off to places that are not meant for little Princesses," Robert replied, he glanced at her with a smug smirk as he prided himself on being a superior guardsman. 

"You will be safe with us," Johnathon said as he looked down at her with a fake smile. 

Rapunzel breathed a heavy sigh as she never thought she would miss Stan and Pete as much as she had done since they left, she would much rather have a pair of goofy guards watching over her than a pair of creepy ones. 

* * *

** 05:00 PM  **

_ Old Corona Woods  _

Varian panted as he jogged through the wood, which his father had explicitly told him to stay out of at least until Pete was caught, he snuck out while he was at work helping the villagers with the repairs and trying to reassure them that they would not be slaughtered by the rogue guard when he had heard of his escape he worried that he would attack, maybe not necessarily go on a killing spree but still hurt some people. He heard from Xavier that he had refused to take the antidote but it should wear off soon. He still had a feeling in his gut that something very bad was going to happen if he was not stopped before then. He had gotten quite deep in the wood, fortunately, he had a good memory and experience in hiding there so he would not get lost, he froze when he heard footsteps in the distance, he walked further up and seen an older man on his own, he had never seen him out of uniform before, instead of the red shirt and black vest, he had a plain black tunic, trousers and scuffed boots, his dark brown hair was messed up, his arms had bruises and cuts along both of them, some which looked nasty, he supposed they had not been properly cleaned up. He had taken a deep breath as slowly approached the middle-aged man cautiously, he was completely different, he had not seen him since they were at the orphanage, he was shocked by the scar across his right eye, even Ruddiger was scared as he clung to his shoulder. “Pete? Is that you?”

Pete didn’t reply just looked at him with a cold glare then picked up a dagger and sliced across the small rabbit’s stomach. 

Varian’s eyes widened, now he saw why Ruddiger was so scared and in a way so was he, he never thought the goofy guard would have the heart to kill a helpless little creature especially one as cute as a bunny.

“What? I have to eat something… I would rather not have to resort to this but because of Drama King over there I can’t even show my face in public without people overreacting and calling the Dogs on me!” Pete said.

Varian gulped, he never pictured him as a hunter or ever thought he would have felt so nervous around him, with Cassandra he had some idea on what her problem was but with him it did not make as much sense. “Why did you run away? That part of Corona is your home, you're not safe here.”

“Not anymore, I can never go back there,” Pete replied sadly.

“Why not? What happened?” Varian asked as he dared to step closer to the man.

Pete groaned as he lowered the dagger and stared at the fire. “If I do go back I will get sent to the Looney Bin or they will kill me… They think I’m mad.”

“I’m sure Eugene would not let that happen,” Varian said.

Pete rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t give a toss about me, no one does!”

Varian shook his head. “No, that’s not true, there are a few people who do care about you even a little bit… Xavier and I did not have to make an antidote for you or try to give it to you but we did out of the kindness of our hearts, Eugene had tried giving you a break instead of firing you, Stan-“

“He was trying to poison me!”

“What? No… That was medicine, it’s your mind that has been poisoned with the Hate Potion!” Varian exclaimed, hurt he would say such a thing. “Xavier and I would never do that, we were trying to help make you better!”

“Scram pipsqueak!” Pete shouted as he turned to him with the dagger still in his hand.

Varian’s heart hammered in his chest as he backed away, although he was upset about being called that he was more afraid of the ex-Royal Guard lashing out at him as he had done to the men who handled him. “Pete, you’re angry, I get it… I’m not entirely sure why but you’re making a terrible mistake… Hate is like-like fire, it’s destructive, it doesn’t just hurt you but also other people, you’ve seen what it had done to Cassandra and myself, do not repeat our mistakes… Just calm down and go back home, where you will be safe… We can give you whatever help you need after the potion is out of your system.”

“Help? Do you know what their idea of help is? Years in a cell either in the dungeons or in an asylum… Literally an asylum! You just got off lightly because you’re young, I’m a grown man… It’s not going to be that easy for me!” Pete cried.

“Pete, please listen to me… No one is trying to trick you, apart from George, he’s the one who got you into this mess in the first place!” Varian said.

“I know!” Pete shouted. “He was using me to get whatever he wanted… Just like everyone else in my pathetic life!”

“What?”

Pete growled as he glared at the younger man who he towered over, his head just about reached his shoulders. “Don’t play dumb kid, I haven’t forgotten the time you had almost gotten me fired!”

“What are you talking about?” Varian asked.

“The purple cookie! You tricked me into telling you about the Royal Vault to get that stupid flower if Dave had found out I was the one who blabbed I would have been kicked off the guard!” Pete shouted. 

Varian’s eyes widened, he had not thought about that, he did not think it would have not gotten that bad although the former Captain did seem a lot more strict than Eugene. “I’m so sorry Pete… I didn’t think you would have been punished.”

“You didn’t care either, it was just a thing I did for a living, no big deal!” Pete said with a growl as he turned left.

Varian had taken a deep breath, he never thought he would be more scared of the Goofy Guard than he was of Cassandra when she had the Moonstone, Ruddiger had jumped down from his shoulders and tugged at his trouser leg as though to tell him to run. “Pete… Take some deep breaths and come back with me before things get out of hand.”

“Go away!” Pete yelled as he turned back to him then started twitching.

Varian had started to see why Ruddiger was so insistent on running away, his eyes grey irises turned red on and off, he did not understand why was it doing that? How was it doing that? He gasped as Pete had fallen onto his knees, he had put one hand on the side of his head as though he had been hit with something. Varian was very afraid but resisted his flight instinct as he put a hand on his shoulder, it looked like he was trying hard to fight against it.“Pete, let me look at your eyes… I might be able to help.” 

He jumped when he heard him growl as he raised his head back up, his eyes had turned crimson and stopped flashing. He was still for a moment then stood himself back up. It reminded him of the time his dad was brainwashed, he had started to wish he had brought his alchemy bombs like the pink goo. He had taken a deep breath than darted off, it was too dangerous to stick with him. His heart pounded in his chest as he ran as quickly as he could which was not very much, with a peek over his shoulder he had seen Pete chasing him, he had not gotten his sword out but did not want to wait and see if he would. He hid behind a large tree and tried to keep as quiet as the ex guard passed through the dozens of trees. He felt his heart skip a beat as he heard the sound of a sword being drawn, he wondered if this was, for lack of a better word, normal part of the Hate Potion. He could not understand it, Xavier said it should have started to wear off by this time. Had he taken something else? Maybe a modified version of it that made it even stronger than George’s version, he glanced over again and to his horror, he was right beside him, he held his breath and ducked as he looked left. He was on thin ice, one sound would have given away his position, he breathed a sigh of relief when he moved further down the path. He needed to see Eugene right away, he had become dangerous, possibly more than he and Cassandra ever was. 


	20. The Red Mist

Varian panted heavily as he raced across the wood with Ruddiger in tow, he glanced over his shoulder a few times to check the coast was clear for a while it was but soon he found him again and he was still under the control of whatever it was, he was literally seeing red as to him Varian appeared as though there was a filter over him, he had no idea what he was doing. Varian had tripped over a tree root and fallen flat on the ground, he glanced over his shoulder as he got up, to his horror he was right behind him, tears streamed down his eyes as he was terrified of what he was going to do to him. Ruediger looked up at the brainwashed man in fear to for a moment then his face hardened, he arched his back as his fur stuck up then pounced on him but before he got to him, he got slashed across the waist.   
“Ruddiger! No!” Varian screamed as his buddy had fallen on the ground, more tears flowed he never imagined that the goofy guard would be even more brutal than Cassandra was with the moonstone, he crawled up and scooped him in his arms. The gash horrified him, panic raised as he did not have anything to heal it, he felt sick to his stomach as he had seen the raccoon’s blood drip from the blade, he got up and dashed away, he pushed himself to his limit.   
“Varian!”   
The teen jumped at the sound of his father’s voice, for once he was glad he had come looking for him.   
“Dad! Dad!” Varian cried as he rushed down the path and searched for him, he hoped he would catch sight of him before the demonised Pete did again.   
“Varian!” Quirin yelled again.   
Varian turned left where he figured his voice came from and much to his relief he had seen him as he ran towards him.   
“Varian! I told you to stay out of here! It’s not safe!” Quirin shouted although he was glad he was okay but was still angry at him for going against his instructions.   
“I know Dad but I was worried about Pete… Someone has overdosed him with a potion, we need to get it out of his system as soon as possible!” Varian said.   
Quirin breathed an exasperated sigh as he put a hand over his face. “Leave it to Eugene and the guards, they are trained for this kind of thing.” He had taken another look at his son and noticed he had Ruddiger in his arms. “What happened to the raccoon?”   
Varian trembled as he had broken down into tears again. “P-Pete had cut him… This potion has a brainwashing effect… L-like the Mind Trap… He was going to kill me and he jumped to try and protect me.”   
Quirin’s eyes widened, this was even worse than he thought, he had taken his jacket off and wrapped it around Ruddiger then passed him back to Varian who pressed a hand on the wound to slow the bleeding. “You need to tell the Captain… It looks like the guards are going to have their work cut out for them, I’ll give you a lift to the castle and look after Ruddiger for you.”   
Varian nodded, he had taken another look around for him, he was relieved to have finally lost him but still stayed close to his dad in case he appeared out of the blue again.   
Although he need not worry at that moment as it stopped, Pete had fallen over onto the ground and his body had shaken uncontrollably, he panted heavily as he felt a tightness in his chest along with a splitting headache. The moments with Varian was a blur to him, he could not understand what was happening to him.  
“It’s okay bud, I’ve got you,” Shadow Man whispered as he knelt down and rummaged through his bag for some good herbs. 

* * *

  
**05: 30 PM**   
_Throne Room_

  
  
It was not long until Eugene had heard that Frederic had barred up Rapunzel’s room again, had guards at her door, restricted her movement to mealtimes and occasions of Royal Duties, he thought his Father-In-Law should have trusted him enough to protect her from anyone even the demonised Pete. He was ready to give His Highness a piece of his mind as he charged down into the throne room, he found it very odd that he requested to see the search team separately, was he hiding something from him? He had never known him to do that before, it was always the Captain who talked to him, the others just… Guarded him. “We have been over this Frederic, how many times do I have to tell you? Locking her up in her room is a horrible idea, she had spent most of her life locked in a flaming tower!”   
Frederic did not reply right away but Nigel stepped in as he leaned forward with hands-on-hips and glared at the young Captain. “Mind your language Fitzherbert, this is the King you are talking to, this is really-”   
“Nigel!” Frederic snapped and jumped up from his throne and looked at Eugene with an outraged expression. “Do you think I wanted this? Can you not see how much danger she is in right now with that maniac on the loose!”   
Eugene had reached the end of his tether with him, it frustrated him that they were having this conversation for the second time. “Of course I do, I thought you would have trusted me to protect her myself! Those bars are unnecessary… Pete is far out in the woods, he is not going to come over here and kill Rapunzel!”   
“How can you be so sure? For all you know he could be working on a plan to kill her and me! I know finding missing people are not a thing the guard is good at! They couldn’t even find her, they had missed a spot and failed to find her before you did!”   
Eugene sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “She should be able to leave her room whenever she wishes! You know it does not do her any good to be cooped up in there all day!”   
“Gothel had came in through the balcony, it is likely that Peter would do the same to get directly to Rapunzel!” Frederic yelled. “I also have bars installed in mine and Arianna’s room and she is also under constant surveillance, I am not taking any chances Captain and you should not either! You are taking too much pity on that mad man!”   
“Peter is not mad! He is sick but not the monster you are now making him out to be! He has not shown any intention of harming Rapunzel, the only people he has attacked is the other guards even when he had the perfect opportunity to kill her, he did not go near her, he had only acted out when he was taken to my office!” Eugene argued. “He is on a dangerous potion which might I add you have been on yourself! Do not use that guy as a scapegoat, it is bad enough he is being used by someone else as a pawn!”   
“How have you been doing finding the culprit Captain? The guard has been falling apart ever since David left, you need to get a grip and sort the men out!” Frederic bellowed. “Nigel has informed me that there has been a lot of infighting with them and about the dreadful behaviour Peter had displayed as Captain it is your responsibility to keep them in line!”   
“What do you think I’ve been trying to do? How can I stop them when they are going behind my back? I am trying my best here!” Eugene exclaimed.   
“Well, if this is the best you can do perhaps I should consider replacing you with an older and more experienced guard… One who listens to me and does not get emotionally involved with his work. You have three more days to find Peter and prove that we have been on this Hate Potion or you will be removed from your position,” Frederic said.   
At that moment Eugene was stunned, he had not seen that coming, though there was a part that was even more furious with him, three days was unrealistic to do all of that. “Fred, come on… Three days is not enough time to do all of that, Pete could be anywhere in Old Corona, I am dealing with a lot of stuff right now, one of my men has fallen seriously ill and I have to decide whether to take him back in or not, there is the Cassandra case, I have to prepare her for the trial.”   
“It looks like David had made an error in judgement when he had chosen you to be his replacement, as Captain you need to be able to manage a large workload as you will be dealing with many different cases and issues if you cannot handle all this then you are not fit for the job,” Frederic said. “You are now dismissed.”

  
The guards who had taken over from the last group stared wide-eyed in shock, some were rather annoyed with the way he had talked about them like he thought they were all idiots, they had only just gotten used to having Eugene as their captain and now they might get another one. A few had glanced at each other as they wondered who he had in mind, they had not even noticed the smug smirk George had as the Mighty King had played into his hands again, they all did.   
  


* * *

**06:00 PM**

_Stan’s House_

“If you need anything, feel free to ask,” David said as he bid farewell to Lily.

She nodded, she thought it was very good of him to help the man who used to work with. ”Thank you, Dave.”

”You’re welcome, take care now Mrs,” David said then walked off.   
  
Lily breathed a heavy sigh as she closed the door then walked upstairs to check on her husband. She hoped he would have started coming round now, sadly no such luck as he was still unconscious. She seated herself beside Stan and dapped a small towel on his forehead to bring his temperature down, it worried her that even three hours after he had passed out he had not woken up but she was sure he would in time, she was not sure if he could hear her or not but thought it would be good to sing the song they used to do together.

“Now it’s time to say goodbye, remember me, try not to cry even though we are islands apart you will always be in my heart, we can sing this little song every day we are apart, remember me while I am away, remember me anytime you feel sad,” she had a sweet and smooth voice like Rapunzel was a talented singer. “Know those we love will never go away so until we meet again… Remember me.”

Tears streamed down her face as she cracked, it was too much, she was terrified that she was going to lose him and it was out of her control, there was nothing anyone could do to save him. She wracked her brain trying to figure out what could have happened while he was at work to put him in such a state if Xavier was right that it was the forgetfulness potion that meant someone had somehow gotten him to drink it. She clutched the bedsheet as her mood changed from sadness to fury, she swore if she ever found out who had made her love suffer they would pay dearly and she would never forgive them. “Keep holding on Stan… You’re going to be okay, David and I are going to keep you safe, no one is going to harm you again.” She glanced down at her waist and put a hand over her womb and thought of their child. “You to little one.”

* * *

**06:30 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

“How did it go?” Cassandra asked. 

Eugene groaned as he leaned against her cell door. “Still no sign of him.” 

Cassandra breathed a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall. “How far could he have gone?” 

Eugene shrugged. “It looks like he has managed to get very far in the woods, it’s not easy finding a missing person… His Highness has given me three more days to find him and prove that he was on the Hate Potion or he will sack me and replace me with one of the older guards.” 

Cassandra gasped as she turned to him. “What? That’s not fair!” 

“Right? Why couldn’t he see that I am doing the best I can! I have been frustrated with myself for being unable to stop all of this madness from starting in the first place like maybe I should have kept Pete in so I could have kept an eye on him, maybe talked to him at another time like outside work, been more patient, worded things better,” Eugene said. 

“You have only been searching for him two days, it can take a long time to find someone on the run and finding the culprit is going to be a whole other ball game, I get that he is worried that Pete would break in and kill Raps but this is just ridiculous,” Cassandra said. 

Eugene sighed as he looked down at the floor, although he was infuriated with him, he was more worried about what will become of his former employees. “I just hope Pete is okay, I don’t know how much of this Hate Potion he has been given, what all the side effects are, he could be in pain like you have been suffering with… When I talked to Nigel earlier he said he noticed Frederic had been suffering with persistent headaches and has not been looking very well, he was okay earlier and just now turned mean again… I had seen Xavier on the way back, he agreed with the doc that Stan has irreversible brain damage, I thought if he was up to it he could come back but he has been suffering with lightheadedness, the forgetfulness potion will eventually kill him as his brain would get so exhausted it just shut down. Unlike it was with you it’s too dangerous to experiment on him further to try and cure it as it could cause him more pain and bring his death quicker.” 

Cassandra sighed as she hugged her knees, it was just as she had feared the one guard she knew and trusted was gone forever, she was going to be stuck with those creeps, her heart went out to his wife even though she never knew her, he was seriously ill and there was nothing that could be done to make it better. She felt terrible for Stan to, he did not deserve this, yes he had his flaws but he was a good man, he had been a great help to her and her dad during their struggles. She was surprised how much she actually missed him since he was sent home, her heart sunk at the news that he would never return. “Does his wife know this?”

Eugene sighed again as he gazed at the stone floor sadly. “Not yet… I am going to visit her as soon as I can.” 

Cassandra nodded, that sounded fair, she did not want the poor woman to be left in the dark which would have made it worse for her when he did pass away if she was not given the chance to prepare. “You are sure it was a potion?” 

Eugene nodded. “Yeah… At first the doc thought he just had a concussion and amnesia but then we realised it was worse than that, as not only had he forgotten names and such, it was everyday words and was unable to recollect new information. I thought he would be like Frederic and Arianna when they got hit with the Saporian wand of oblivion but both Woodlock and Xavier have agreed that is not the case either… I was hopeful that he would pull through but now I’m not so sure.”

Cassandra breathed a heavy sigh as she rested her head on her knees, after the whole thing with Zhan Tiri she did not think things could get any darker, first Pete had been drugged which made whatever emotional issues he was having a hundred times worse, herself and her inmates then Stan was silenced by wiping out his memory and killing him off. She knew someone had hurt him to get him out of their way and keep him from coming back to stop him from dubbing them in it. She suspected George or Dan was behind it, she hated that guy, she had witnessed him bullying Stan and Dan doing the same to Pete, they would have jumped the chance to get rid of them, they were at their weakest when they were on their own. She imagined George had driven Pete away from Stan and the other guys to radicalise him to bring out his mean streak which explained why he was so nasty to her when she arrived. He knew Stan would get upset which would lead them to argue and soon split up. 

“I have seen your dad today to, he offered to look after him while she went out to work… He figured his memory has been cut off at the time they met, just before he joined the guard,” Eugene said. 

“He was only able to recover a little bit of his memory? Why couldn’t he get more?” Cassandra asked. 

Eugene shrugged. “I don’t know, he tried something and it didn’t exactly work out, looks like he could only make it a bit better by seeing what could be saved, the rest is just gone.” 

“How long does he reckon he has to live?” Cassandra asked. 

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh. “Four to six weeks.” 

Cassandra’s eyes widened slightly, although it was longer than she had while she was on Sleeping Death it was a small amount of time, he was not exactly young but he should have still had a full life ahead of him. As far as she knew his general health was fine, it surprised her the long-lasting harm these potions did to people who had the misfortune of being put on them. “That is very cruel to rob him of his memories and damage his brain beyond repair while slowly killing him… What about The Hate Potion? Will it kill Frederic and Pete?” 

Eugene shrugged again and sighed. “I don’t know but it might do, guess it depends on the amount given to them and it looks like Pete had been put on a whole lot more than Frederic as it has affected him worse.” 

Cassandra nodded, he had a point there, she remembered how she, Rapunzel and Eugene had accidentally been overdosed with the Mood Potion by a couple of their animal friends. “Have you figured out who had done it yet?” 

Eugene had shaken his head. “Nope, that is proving to be just as hard as finding Pete.” 

“I think I have a good idea on who it is,” Cassandra said, it was funny for someone that had been locked in a cell for the last two weeks she did not miss much. 

Eugene backed off from the door and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “Really? Who?” 

Cassandra sighed, she moved her legs down and turned to him but just before she was about to speak she was cut off. 

“Get out! You’re not allowed in the dungeons!” Greg shouted from outside. 

“I need to see Captain Fitzherbert! It’s urgent!” 

Both Eugene and Cassandra were shocked when they heard Varian’s voice, Eugene rushed to the door to see what the commotion was about. 

“It’s okay Greg, let him in.” Once the man stepped aside he gestured to Varian to follow him to his office, where they could talk in private, the frightened expression on his face worried him. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Varian gulped then lifted his head to look back at Eugene. “I-It’s Pete… I had seen him in the woods, he was annoyed with me but then something really weird happened.” 

“What do you mean?” Eugene asked as he jumped from his chair and looked straight at him. 

“He started twitching and then fell over, his eyes turned into a dark red colour, he chased me and got his sword out… He tried to kill me! It was like when The Brotherhood members were put under the mind trap, he just did it without thinking!” Varian cried. “If that happens with another person he could kill them!” 

“Is it supposed to do that?” Eugene asked, his tone sounded more fearful. 

Varian shrugged. “I don’t know, that was what I was wondering… Xavier never said anything about it changing eye colour, I don’t even understand how it does that! I am starting to think he has taken a modified version of it so the guys are going to be out of their depth, it just came on all of a sudden, I don’t know if it is supposed to be on and off or if it is meant to stay… If that’s the case that means he is too far gone.” 

“Right, thanks for the heads up Varian… I will warn the men before they go off for the night search, perhaps they should take their shields with them and a net,” Eugene said. 

Varian nodded. “Yeah, he has literally lost his mind… They are really going to have their work cut out for them.”

* * *

** 10:30 PM **

_Old Corona Woods_

Nothing could have prepared Tom, Harry, Phil, Josh, Ed, Drake and Richard when it came to their turn to do the night search. All six of them had seen a lot during their time on the guard but were shaken by what they had found in the spot where Pete was last sighted. A body of a man. They had gotten off their horses and went to have a closer look. 

“It’s Dan... He’s been stabbed,” Phil said as he turned the fallen man onto his back where there was the deep wound. “He is now dead.” 

“Y-You think Pete has done this?” Josh stammered, he was one of the youngest guards, he looked quite similar to Pete with a lanky frame, clean-shaven oval-shaped face sloped nose and freckles, the difference was he did not have a fringe. 

Phil nodded. “Yeah, who else could have done it? It looks like that kid was right... He is too far gone, there is no saving him.” 

“Are you sure? I mean, he does have quite a few enemies,” Josh asked. 

Phil nodded. “He had almost killed a child Josh... I think it isn’t too much of a stretch to think he would have killed one of us to. He has crossed a very big line, if we see him we have to shoot him.” 

In the distance, The Shadow Man smirked, things were about to get very interesting. “I hope you are ready Captain Fitzherbert,” he whispered. He then turned around and headed down to see how his little “buddy” was doing. 

  
  



	21. The Fight Is On

**11:00 PM**

_Main Study Room_

  
“You see Your Majesty, he has become very dangerous, this is the very thing I had feared!” Nigel said as he pointed to the woods area of Old Corona. “He has turned on his own comrades, if that is not evil I do not know what is!”   
Frederic nodded as he stood with hands behind his back. “I see… He is too far gone, there is no chance of redemption now he has taken another man’s life.”   
“Definitely not, he has proven to be worse than Varian, Fitzherbert is naive enough to think a raccoon can change its stripes, that was a mistake David had made, he should have turned him away when he became aware of his… Past incidents,” Nigel said. “He had already shown himself to be emotionally unstable and unreliable by going into unhealthy habits now look at what he has done… He must be stopped!”   
“You’re right Nigel… I did not want to believe it myself at first, I am very disappointed in him, he was a rather good guardsman up until now,” Frederic said as he gazed through the window. “First Varian then Cassandra and now Peter has betrayed my trust… They do say it’s the quiet ones you should look out for.”   
Nigel nodded as he had also taken a look through the window. “Yes, Your Highness… Perhaps we ought to be more selective with who is employed in the castle, Cassandra and Peter are nothing but riff-raff.”   
There was a moment of silence between the two men then there was a loud bang at the door, they jumped and looked at each other wearily, for a moment they were afraid that it was Pete that came to slaughter them.   
“Stay back Nigel, I’ve got this!” Frederic growled as he pulled his sword out and walked to the door, he pulled it open then lashed out.   
“Wait!”   
He had frozen for a second as he looked and much to his relief, he had not seen the “rogue” guard but one of his men.   
“George! I am so sorry… I-I thought you were-“ 

He held up a hand and shaken his head. “It’s alright Your Highness… I don’t blame you for being on edge considering everything you have been through… I have some dreadful news.”   
“What happened?” Frederic asked, his light blue eyes widened.   
George sighed as he bowed his head. “The men have found Daniel’s body… We suspect that Peter was the one who killed him as he is the only one we know of who has been staying in the woods and he has a personal grudge against him, Daniel thought he could find him and bring him back, I tried to stop him but he… He wouldn’t listen to me! He was my only friend in the team, they’re all ganging up on me, blaming me for everything!”   
Frederic sighed, he was already aware but looked at the man with a sympathetic expression as he put a hand on his shoulder. “I know, he has crossed the line now… Rest assured Peter will be brought to justice when we finally capture him, I will put an end to the infighting with the guard, it is unacceptable behaviour.”   
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” George whispered and bowed down to him.   
Frederic nodded. “Your welcome, you have been a great help to me these past few weeks unlike some you are not being biased towards Cassandra and giving her special treatment.”   
“What do you plan to do with Peter, Your Highness? Hang him? Keep him in the dungeons until he’s fifty?” George asked.   
Frederic had shaken his head. “No, no, I already have an arrangement for him, something far worse than death and I will not feel safe with him in my castle… He is going to be sent to an asylum far away from here so he will not be able to harm us ever again.”   
George nodded. “Good choice Your Majesty, he should live to see the consequences of his actions… Good night.”   
“Good night George, take care,” Frederic said.   
George nodded again then walked down the dark corridor, he was sure it was all going to go to plan even without his sidekick around, once he was out of earshot he glanced through the window and watched as a half-asleep Eugene sort out Dan’s corpse with the night search team. “I hope you’re ready Fitzherbert, it could very well be you next.” 

* * *

**Wednesday 07:00 AM**

_Captain's Office_

  
  
There was a tense atmosphere in the room as guards from last night’s search and the day teams gathered in front of Eugene, they were still in shock from the news of Daniel’s demise. Poor Josh was a nervous wreck, his eyes puffy from the crying in fear that he would be next on the hit list, Eugene had handed him a handkerchief to clean himself up and had given him some comfort, he had some sympathy for him as he was still a teenager as he was around Rapunzel’s age. The others were either scared or outraged at the thought that he had killed one of them as they stood with their arms crossed or held on to their halberds tight, they were trying to come up with a plan to capture Pete as soon as possible and what to do with him, a couple had some disagreements with the Captain.   
“Captain, I’m afraid Peter is too far gone now,” Greg said. “You heard what that kid said, he has literally lost his mind, that potion has brainwashed him, he just attacks without thinking… It might not be a thing that comes and goes, what if it’s too late to cure him?”   
“Come on let’s not jump to conclusions, it could have been anyone, I don’t think it would have taken long for word to get around that a guard had poisoned some prisoners,” Eugene replied as he flipped through his pile of paperwork.   
Greg sighed as he shook his head, Joe kept quiet as he bowed his, he had never liked Dan but to hear that Pete could have killed one of them shocked him, scared him even.   
“I told you! I told you, he was going to kill Daniel but you did not believe me, now look what’s happened!” George yelled.   
Eugene sighed as he put his ink pen in the holder and looked at George. “Look, I understand you’re upset as your friend has just died but we cannot pin it on Pete unless there is evidence to say he was the killer.”   
George huffed as he crossed his arms. “Who else do you know that has been lurking in the woods at that time of night?”   
“It’s a big place, any number of people could have been in there, I heard he had made quite a few enemies to during his lifetime,” Eugene replied. “If we find him, I will question him myself, any way you are not on the search team so go back to your post upstairs!”   
George growled as he turned his back and stormed out of the office, he went through the dungeons to see how the prisoners were doing. 

“Okay guys, are you ready?” Eugene called out as he raised from his desk.   
“I’m ready!” Greg and Phil shouted as they raised their swords up.   
“We’re ready!” The rest of the team chorused as they did the same expect Josh and Joe.   
“As I’ll ever be… I guess, no one said anything about catching killers,” Josh said, he jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder he looked up and seen Joe.   
“Don’t worry, we’ve got your back, one way or another he will be dealt with.”   
Eugene sighed as he glanced at the sword that hung at his waist, he hoped he would not have to resort to it but from what he had heard from Varian and after the killing of Daniel he was afraid he or one of them would have to. 

* * *

**Castle Dungeons**

  
Cassandra paced across the floor of her cell, she had heard the commotion last night as some of the guys charged in still in shock from their gruesome discovery from their search. It was just as she had feared, Pete had become very dangerous, it had brainwashed him somehow so now he could just lash out without a second thought, at anyone, even Stan if he had seen him, when he was in that state his mind was blank he would not know who he was, let alone anyone else. Although she still not entirely sure how it was able to come on so suddenly and possessed him to go as far as to stab Varian that poor kid was going to have nightmares about it for weeks, he would not be able to look at the guy the same way again, she was not sure anyone would, they had always thought of him as this nice guy which he was normally, a bit too nice for Cass’ liking, she never understood why her dad had passed him into the guard, he was just so goofy and a blabbermouth even without the truth serum! She had been meaning to tell him about the whole cookie trick thing but never got round to it. She sighed as she thought of her dad, she hoped he was keeping himself safe and would leave Pete to Eugene to deal with, he was not fit enough to fight, she did not want Pete to be with him while he was on this dreadful potion that supposedly driven him to kill people. She paused as she turned around and glared at the tall, muscular guard that stood outside the cell door and stared at her.   
“What? Aren’t I allowed to walk around my cell now?”   
George shrugged. “Might as well while you still can… Your time will come soon.”   
Cass had frozen for a moment as she knew he thought she was bound for death row, she felt herself about to panic but then closed her eyes and taken a deep breath as she thought of Stan. He had risked his life for her and Pete, he tried to save them from the real monster with them she was going to do everything possible to make sure his sacrifice was not in vain, she thought back one of the times she had an emotional breakdown and he comforted her. “Stand tall, wear the armour, hold your sword tight and kick those guys’ butts!”   
“Ha! Your warrior days are over, you were never any good anyway, it does no good getting emotional in this line of work,” George said.   
“At least I never went around drugging my coworkers!” Cassandra retorted. “Yeah, I had figured it out myself… Even locked down here and being out cold I don’t miss much, it won’t be long till at least some of the other guys catch on either so if I were you I would run away and never return.”   
George scoffed. “Uh, don’t you remember what you had done to the Princess and Varian? Tsk, tsk, you have no room to talk any way you have no way to prove that I was the one who spiked Pete’s drink and Dan had admitted to causing Stan’s head injury so you haven’t got anything on me.”   
Cassandra rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “You’re not going to get away with this, Eugene is going to find out somehow, you will not like him when he is furious.”   
“I don’t like him anyway, cocky git,” George muttered.   
“Says Mr I am angry because things are not going how I want it so I’m going to poison those who got in my way! What was the meaning of all this? Why couldn’t you have just let it be? Why do you want to kill me so badly you got a potion to make Frederic hate me even more than he already did?” Cassandra shouted. She expected him to go on a full out rant but instead, he had charged into her cell and slapped her hard on the cheek which knocked her onto the filthy stone floor, he knelt down and pulled her by the collar of her tunic. She cringed as she smelt his nasty booze-filled breath, she got a hint of meat to, did he hunt a rabbit for breakfast or something?   
“My mother died from that wicked spell the demon had casted, my home was destroyed by those bloody rocks of yours! I have a whole list of reasons for hating you! I will do whatever I can to rid this world of you once and for all before you ruin another person’s life!”  
Cassandra stared at him wide-eyed and in horror, there was something really wrong with him to do all this messed up stuff which was really unnecessary. “You hate me for supposedly ruining your life while ruining five lives at the same time, Mine, my dad’s, Pete’s, Stan’s and his wife! You’re such a hypocrite, you will not get away with it.”   
George growled then stood himself back up. “By the time they find Pete it will be too late from what I hear he is far gone, knowing your dad he will be foolish enough to try and save him which will not end well, Stan’s condition is irreversible unless another Sundrop flower appears but that is hardly likely to happen... My secrets will die with him.”  
Cassandra did not reply, she had quickly learnt arguing did not get her anywhere, she just glared at him as he walked out of her cell, she swore once Eugene came to see her again she would tell him. She was so close to busting him yesterday, she hoped she would get the chance to do so later today. 

* * *

**08:20 AM**

_Mount Saison_

Pete groaned as he awakened, it was like he was hungover again like he was yesterday, his head still felt sore but not as bad as it was before. The sky was a bright blue with a bit of cloud and quite warm, there were not so many trees around him, the last thing he remembered Varian had turned up and started bothering him. 

“Morning sleeping beauty,” Shadow Man said and chuckled under his breath as he stood by his side and looked down at him, behind his mask he had a wicked grin.   
“W-Where am I?” Pete wondered out loud as she sat up and looked around, he was far out from where he remembered being before, he did not remember seeing a large mountain nearby.   
“You're safe in Mount Saison,” Shadow Man replied.   
“Mount Sai-“ Pete’s voice trailed off as he filled with dread, he was so far out in a place he did not know, he turned and charged up to him. “Why did you bring me here? Who the hell do you think you are?”   
The Shadow Man stared at him and stuttered. “Uh, I am the guy who had just saved your life, the Dogs had almost caught you, your old workmate Dan had tried to poison you with Sleeping Death so I stabbed him the back for you!”   
Pete gasped. “You did what? Do you have any idea how that will look to them? They will think I was the one who did it!”   
The Shadow Man shrugged. “Whether you do anything or not they are coming after you, have you already forgotten about the time you had almost drowned him in the river? Some of them want to kill you and word on the street is His Highness plans to send you to the crazy house, he says it is because you have become insane but really it’s just to save face… Can’t have the people knowing that their leader has been on the pot himself, that will not be a very good look for him.”   
“That git!” Pete growled as he kicked a stone across the ground. “Can’t believe I had wasted ten years looking out for him! I am not going to go to that place, he is not going to use me as a cover-up this time!”   
Shadow Man nodded. “Didn't you ever get even a little bit annoyed watching those fat cats stuffing their faces while there are people out there scavenging for scraps like raccoons and rats?"

Pete was silent for a moment, he had never thought about it like that as it was just normal part of their life but then thought of the time he was out on the streets and he had to resort to that or go without anything all day, it had not changed since then while on duty in town he often saw homeless people in the corners begging for food or change. A few helped but most ignored and walked away, the issue had been brought up many times to His Majesty but nothing got done, just said his usual phrase of: "I'll take that under advisement."  
"Yeah... There are people who have been starving just like I was all those years ago and he never did anything to help them, he doesn't care," he glanced down at the ground below the hill. "It's alright for him, he never had to worry when his next meal would be or if he would get another one that day at all."

The Shadow Man nodded. "Yeah, he doesn't care about us little people, he had Cain's dad killed just for nicking some jewels and coins, the guy was desperate and he had a little girl to feed, you know."   
Pete turned and stared at him wide-eyed. "Seriously? He had him killed off just for that?" 

The Shadow Man nodded. "Uh-huh, people think he is just this really nice family guy but there's a whole lot more to him than that! He won't care that your drink had been spiked, he has already told everyone that you are the bad guy, that's why you can't even go to a shop now without people going into a panic!"

Pete's fear was quickly overtaken by rage as he imagined the people gathered in the throne room and him telling them how "dangerous" and "mad" he was even though he was not going to do anything but they made it very tempting! He had started to see why Varian had lost it with them all. 

"You cannot hide from them forever, they will soon pick up on your scent and follow the trail, you need to work on your fighting skills… Although I was impressed in the Poisoned Apple, there is still a need for improvement with your sword fighting.”   
Pete kept his back to him as he clenched his fists and stared off into the distance, he knew that much, they would soon realise he was not in the woods anymore and search elsewhere, it was not possible to avoid them forever, he had no idea what he was going to do when they did catch him. “I know that but how?”   
“I’ll teach you, I am an excellent fighter, swift as the flowing river, the force of a tidal wave, strong as a wildfire and mysterious as a moonstone,” The Shadow Man said as he pulled out his sword. “That's the way the world is, sadly, kill or be killed... You ready?”   
Pete had taken a deep breath and looked on into the distance. "As I'll ever be." 


	22. Wind And Spark

**09:00 AM**

_Castle Ground Floor_

“I have told you Rapunzel, we are not to discuss Cassandra or Peter,” Frederic said as Rapunzel followed him down the corridor along with Rob and John, of course, she was now allowed to walk around the castle but was still kept out of the dungeons.

“Dad, would you stop pushing me away! The guards are being way too rough with Cassandra, you should be helping Eugene stop it not encourage them to be so brutal to people! I demand that you take back the order of shoot to kill for Pete! You do not know that he was even the one who killed Daniel! You should give him a chance to speak not jump to conclusions!” Rapunzel exclaimed.

“Princess, both Cassandra and Peter are dangerous although unlike her Peter has a history of delving into unhealthy habits such as taking potions and alcohol,” Nigel said.

Rapunzel groaned as this was one of the times she felt like screaming from frustration. “I know their lives haven’t gotten off to a good start but that does not make them who they are, it’s the rest of their story, who they choose to be!”

“They have chosen to be villains, Rapunzel, they must face the consequences,” Frederic said. "Peter is now a prime suspect for murder, he has already attempted it before so regardless of whether he is innocent this time or not he will not be permitted into the castle grounds again... As for Cassandra she has a long list of charges." 

“Father, they were manipulated by someone they thought was a friend, they need help not more punishment, yes they have done bad things but they are not evil! Cassandra is terrified, she had almost been poisoned to death and now her heart is damaged, Pete could be hurt to or someone else could have taken him! Why do you think Eugene is spending so much time looking for him?” Rapunzel cried.

"If you must know I have made an arrangement for Peter when he is finally captured as both you and your mother have voiced your disapproval for the death penalty, Eugene had said he refused to carry it out straight away so I will spare his life and instead send him to a place where he could get treated for his troubled mind," Frederic said. 

"What kind of place is that? Mom said there is nothing to help with emotional health," Rapunzel asked, something smelled fishy, she did not like the sound of this place. 

"He's going to be taken to the Mad House, it's for crazy people like him," Rob said. 

Rapunzel gasped as she looked up at both Nigel and her father with a horrified expression on her face.  "No, that's the worst thing you to do to him, Eugene already had a plan in place to help Cassandra and Peter! You have been shutting him out to and even threatened to fire him when his ideas are much better than yours as unlike you he has not let the power get to his head! That is one of the reasons the former Captain had chosen him as his replacement, even though they did not see eye to eye at first he trusts him a lot now, why can't you?" 

Frederic breathed a heavy sigh as he shook his head, he sometimes wished his daughter was like most other Princesses, not so persistent and inquisitive. “We don’t have time for this Rapunzel, you have to get ready, some of the people have volunteered to help with the repairs in the castle."

For a moment Rapunzel had paused as she looked at him with a bewildered expression. “What? You didn’t think it was safe for me to walk around the castle by myself but you’re letting some of our people in?”

Frederic sighed then turned to his daughter. “After giving it some consideration following my meeting with Eugene, I do listen to him sometimes, I am allowing you to go around the castle grounds and the town in the daytime, at night you are to stay in your room but you must have at least two guards with you at all times.”

Rapunzel sighed, she thought she ought to see that coming, he was not going to let her out without any strings attached. “I don’t need protecting, I am capable of defending myself, I had shown you that in the battles against Varian and Zhan Tiri!”

“I know you are a strong and brave young lady but who knows what Peter is capable of, you were only able to defeat Varian and Zhan Tiri with your powers but you don’t have them anymore,” Frederic said. “Now I have to go… Nigel and I have a lot to discuss.”

Rapunzel groaned as her father and his Adviser walked away, she turned her heel and shoved past the guards as she headed in the other direction, she was so sick of being brushed aside and pushed away. She paused when she came across a family portrait of the three of them, she did not see her father the same way she had done a year ago when she was returned, she glared at him as she was so furious with him. He should have been helping Eugene not fighting him and encouraging the guards to be aggressive and cruel with the way they handled prisoners. He did not seem to care whether Cassandra was innocent or not, he wanted to punish her and when he got his chance he jumped to it, she dreaded to think what would happen to Pete when they eventually find him, he had gone too far with ordering the men to shoot him on sight. She was so lost in her thoughts she had not even noticed George as he sneaked up and whispered in her ear.

“Life will be kinder to you once you accept these traditions, remember Princesses are to be seen and not heard.”

Pascal rumbled a low sort of growl as he glared at the corrupt guard, Rapunzel did not reply as he passed by her, she did not see the point apart from Eugene, Cass and David, no one listened to her yet they expected her to be their future leader she wanted to end this madness but was not sure how there was so much going on all at the same time. Every time she had tried to speak up she was either ignored or pushed away, she ignored Rob and John as they followed her up the corridor and to the throne room.

“Here I go again with a flame meant to burn me out, stuck in a cage, choking on the smoke with no chance to speak, my voice drowned out by thousand others shouting out but I will not cry and I will not give in whenever they tell me to shut up or go away.”She looked around the large room where so much had happened, it was still a mess from the rocks, she strolled across the room and looked at the end where three thrones were placed on a platform. “I won’t keep quiet, though you don’t want to hear it.” She sang as she climbed up the small flight of steps and sat on Frederic’s throne which someday would be her’s. “No matter what you do, I won’t stay silent.”

* * *

**09:30 AM**

_Stan's House_

“Hey, Stan, how are you feeling?” David asked as he sat down by his bedside and waited for him to wake up, he blinked a few times, his vision was blurry at first then cleared up.

“Not so good Cap-Dave… I’ve got a headache,” Stan replied, he could hardly keep his eyes open as became sensitive to light. “It’s been like this since last night… Feel like I’ve been bashed against a wall.”

David pulled the curtains closer together to shield him from the sunlight, he sighed as he turned and glanced down at the cup with the tea he had just made and passed it over to him, he never thought he would be the one to nurse him, he never got personally involved with his men even though he was going through a very difficult time himself, he still wanted to help him and his wife who were in need. Lily’s stress needed to be kept at a minimum otherwise she could lose her baby and although he could not do anything to fix the problem he could make it easier for her by caring for Stan so she could focus on her work and not worry herself about him getting hurt or lost again. “Hopefully this will help, Xavier had given me some pain-killing potion to help with my hip.”

“Whose X-Xav-Ier?” Stan asked and stammered as he tried to pronounce it.

“He’s the local blacksmith and he is good at potions to, it won’t fix your problem but it will take the edge off,” David replied. “He’s a great help to the community, he saved my daughter when she was poisoned, helped you when you had passed out.”

Stan did not reply but had a sip of the herbal tea and set it down on the bedside table, he breathed a sigh of relief as the pain lessened. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” David replied. “Things have been quite hectic lately, to say the least.”

“I can’t believe it… I-I’m going to be a-a d-d-dad… A dad! How did that happen?” Stan exclaimed.

David chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, this would have been funny if it were not for his memory loss. “I’m not sure how far along she is but all being well, you will soon be parents.”

“Wow... I can’t believe it,” Stan said as he stared off into space.

David put on a small smile, he hoped it would work out for them this time and as if it was not hard enough someone had made it worse by harming Stan’s brain, the smile faded as it dawned on him that he may not live to see his child as she had almost eight months to go before he/she was ready to be born, the kid would have lost his/her’s chance to meet their dad. He could only imagine how heartbreaking that would be for Lily even more so if she ended up losing both child and husband, he wished there was a way to fix this quickly so Stan could get back to work and their life go back to normal but sadly it did not look like it was going to happen. “Yeah… It’s a very special time for you two, should have been one of your happiest but someone has made you sick.”

Stan sighed as he looked the drawn curtains, he had been in bed for a long time a part of him was longing to get out there again there was nothing for him to do in the bedroom. “I don’t have to stay in bed all the time do I?”

“Well, the doctor advised total bed rest so for the time being I’m afraid you do,” David replied. “Just in case you pass out again... Your head is in a bad condition.”

Stan groaned as he turned his face away from him, he was frustrated with the emptiness in him as he was way behind the others, he was still confused about how he went from a twenty-three-year-old to thirty-six-year-old, he was shocked how he had suddenly grown a full handlebar moustache. He did not even remember having a girlfriend yet he was told he was married, he did not remember being a guard the sad thing was he was no longer fit to work so even if he wanted to go back he could not. The high street was in pieces, some of the shops had changed, there were different people and even the people he remembered a little had changed. He wanted to try and fill in the gaps, catch up with the others,the thing about his head worried him, he had only managed to get through a few hours then suddenly collapsed. That was not right, Lily said last night he could barely stay awake within minutes he found himself drifting off again even though he already had plenty of sleep his mind flashed back to a time very long ago as he thought of the song she had sung to him... There was something about it that sounded familiar. 

“The time has come to say goodbye but remember me, try not to cry even though we are islands apart you will always be in my heart.” There was a man that looked similar to him, quite tall, tanned skin tone, muscular, stocky build, brown eyes, short black hair, same kind of handlebar moustache, he stood by his son’s bedside and played the lute, his singing voice was quiet and soft. “We can sing this little song every day we are apart, remember me while I am away, remember me anytime you feel sad.”

‘Dada!’ Little Stan, he was about five or six at this time, his dad moved closer as the pair of them sang together. “Know those we love will never go away so until we meet again… Remember me.”

Little Stan watched quietly as his dad backed away that was the last time he had ever seen him, one day he left to start guard duty and never came back home, he never knew why. 

David breathed a heavy sigh as he watched his former workmate helplessly, he had thought back on what Xavier said on his life expectancy being reduced to a few weeks he had a bad feeling in his gut that his passing would be sooner rather than later. Unless by some miracle another magical flower appeared and healed him but that was not very likely to happen. Sundrop flowers were not a regular occurrence even then how could they wield its power without triggering the darkness again? He had been meaning to tell Lily but couldn’t bring himself to do it, whenever he tried words failed him he supposed it might have been better to leave that to Eugene.

* * *

**10:20 AM**

_Old Corona Woods_

“This is where it happened Sir,” Greg said as he led them to the spot by the broken rope bridge.

Eugene sighed as he did not want to believe that Pete had been the one who killed him but now with the brainwashing powers of the Hate Potion or whatever else he was on was going to make it very hard to prove his innocence. That and the fact he had almost killed Varian and unfortunately taken the life of his raccoon buddy. He had seen Quirin and Varian burying him in the garden, he had died when the young alchemist returned home. He was not sure if he would ever forgive Pete for that even if he was demonised. “Right... What makes you so sure it was Pete who killed him?”

“He is the only one we know of who has been lurking around that late, Pete and Dan have never gotten along,” Greg said. “I don’t think he would have killed him if he was not under the influence of the Hate Potion. He must have ran into him while he was in the brainwashed state, he should of had kept his armour on.”

Eugene nodded, he thought he was foolish for venturing out into the woodland on his own with no personal protection. He glanced down on the other side and grimaced at the puddle of vomit. Max bowed his head and sniffed it like a sniffer dog, he hated it but he was willing to do anything to find him. He huffed is frustration as he still could not find a trail.

“I didn’t notice that before,” Josh said. “Could he have thrown up just before he was stabbed?”

Joe had shaken his head. “No, that must have been someone else... Sometimes get drunks wandering around here.” He looked around and then something shiny caught his eye. He knelt down and picked up a flacon, it was mostly empty but there was some clear water like liquid inside it. “Hey up, what is this?”

Eugene paused as he turned to Joe and eyed the small glass bottle. “Looks like he was up to something when he came over here, maybe planning to give that to Pete.”

Joe walked closer to the Captain and handed it over. “It looks like your mate Varian and Xavier are not the only ones who know a thing or two about potions... Perhaps he was the one who poisoned the prisoners, maybe he had came here to try and do the same to Pete... Unaware of the brainwashing effect.”

Eugene nodded as he looked down at it, he had no idea what the Sleeping Death potion looked like, he was annoyed with himself for not stopping him sooner. He shoved the potion in his satchel and tugged Max’s reigns. “I’ll get it checked out... Hopefully today will be our lucky day and we find Pete before it’s too late.”

Greg and Joe mounted back on their horses and followed Eugene further down the woodland. They failed to realise that he was no longer there, he was now on the opposite side of the land fighting furiously.

* * *

 **10:30 AM**

_Mount Saison_

Pete growled as he lunged at The Shadow Man, he unleashed his rage and frustration onto his new “friend.” They had been at it for a couple hours and he was struggling with his reflexes as his headache made it difficult for him to concentrate. The Shadow Man easily disarmed him and kicked him in the stomach which knocked him further back.

“Focus! These guys are not going to hold back, they will destroy you!”

Pete groaned in frustration as he glared at him, he knew that! Not only was he outraged with the way they had all dog piled onto him but terrified that one of them was going to kill him or worse still send him to an asylum.

He had taken a deep breath then pushed himself back out, grabbed his sword and struck his opponent. He blocked him just in time a second later he would of had a nasty cut.

“That’s more like it, keep that fire going but be careful not to get lost in the smoke,” Shadow said with a small smirk then hit back which he blocked quicker than last time. "Imagine I am the person you hate the most right now!" 

Pete groaned, there were quite a few people he despised at the moment but the first one that came to mind was George, he yelled as he lashed out at him, every time he hit back, he struck harder. 

"There now you're getting it!" Shadow exclaimed as his grin widened, he was surprised how quickly he had caught on and all he had to do was egg him on some more, he was so easy to wind up, they carried on for a few more minutes then Pete had fallen back, he panted heavily as he bowed his head and pressed a hand on his forehead. He figured he had triggered the brainwash thing again, that was going to make teaching more challenging, when he raised his head again his irises turned bright red. "Okay now you have gotten lost in the smoke again... Let's see how you do now, come at me!" He yelled as he pointed his sword up. "You sure do make things difficult Pete but on the plus side at least they won't be able to talk you out of it." 

Pete growled then struck him again, he was hard enough for a weak fighter to be defeated but against a stronger opponent it did not appear likely to work out for him. Shadow did not worry that he could possibly sort of accidentally kill him even though he was surprised how much he had improved this time round, he could only imagine what he would be like when the time came to face The Royal Guard again. He was looking forward to seeing how it would turn out, he had told those other villains that they would get their vengeance for them without having to do a thing, they would do it for them, he had already set off the spark all that was left was the wind to fan the flames. 


	23. Shadows

**11:00 AM**

**Old Corona Woods**

“Who knew he would be so good at hide and seek?” Eugene asked as stealth had never been his strong point as they had gone further into the woods than before even as far back as to where Gothel’s tower was in hopes of finally finding him.

“Don’t you think it’s odd how the King has not been showing the same signs as Pete? With the red-eye thing or the intense paranoia?” Joe asked.

Eugene did not reply right away, he had not thought of it but he had a point, although he had been cured before Pete so he didn’t get that far. “Yeah... I thought it was because Pete was given a higher dosage but now I’m starting to think he has taken another thing after he ran away, I am afraid someone has taken him and is planning to take advantage while he is in a poor state.”

Joe nodded. “Yeah... I can see that happening, he had been acting strangely after the battle, I hadn’t seen that side of him before, it’s very scary.” 

There was quiet for a while as they rode up deeper through the woodland after investigating the scene of the crime, all hoping that this would be their lucky day so they could go back to somewhat normal.

“I’ve heard the King has given you a deadline to find him otherwise you will be removed from your position,” Joe said breaking the long and awkward silence.

“Yeah… He has some nerve, I had saved his life, it was a one-time thing but still! I thought he loved me… Since I had brought his daughter back home but lately he’s been making me feel bad,” Eugene said.

“Did you?”Joe asked.

“Yeah that time he and Arianna got stuck in Mount Saison when the blizzard came up thanks to Zhan Tiri,” Eugene said. “Lance, the guys and I tried to lift him with a wheel of the carriage but he was too heavy it snapped and he fell over the edge, I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him up but I wasn’t able to luckily Lance was there to help.”

“Wow… He owes you big time! He was lucky you two got there when you did… He probably would have been a goner by the time we got there," Joe said with a nervous chuckle under his breath. "That blizzard was weird it just came out of nowhere… We hadn’t had snow in a long time before that." 

Eugene sighed. “That was Zhan-Tiri, she can put herself in many forms.”

“That thing was a woman?” Joe gasped as he looked at him in bewilderment. 

“Yeah… Sort of,” Eugene replied as he looked at the path ahead of him, it was a strange time.

“Captain!” Greg shouted out from a distance.

Eugene nudged Max within a few minutes he caught up to them, he had spotted a red shirt and black vest laid roughly on the ground it was the same ones used by the royal guards, he breathed a heavy sigh then climbed off Max and picked up the discarded clothing, this was one of the last things he was expecting.

“Does this mean he is going around shirtless now?” Joe asked.

“Could be worse… At least he appears to have kept his pants on,” Greg said as he looked around the space.

Eugene shrugged. “Probably or he grabbed a change of clothes from home… You wouldn’t want to stay in the uniform for the job you had just quit,” he lifted the shirt and looked for any damage like a rip or bloodstain but it was clean, he folded it up and held it in his arms. He had another look at the area and spotted a small pile of burnt firewood. “Looks like he has set himself a little camp here to.”

“What are we going to do Cap? Wait around here till he comes back?” Joe asked.

“I think he’s moved out… This rabbit corpse looks like it’s been here for at least a day,” Greg said as he pointed at the poor bunny that hung by its rear legs partly skinned.

“Yikes… I didn’t know he could hunt,” Joe said.

“Yeah, Pete with no meat has been full of surprises lately,” Greg said. “At least we’re getting close now, we’ll find him soon.”

Max moved closer to Eugene and sniffed the shirt, not the nicest human scent he’s picked up on but at least it was still there, he bowed his head down and sniffed the ground.

“Got something Max?” Eugene asked.

Max got up and pointed downwards.

“Good going,” Eugene said then hopped back onto the stallion and let him lead the way, things seemed to have begun looking up for once as they had finally found some clues, he hoped he would find him this time as it worried him what affect this potion would have on his health. 

* * *

**12:00 AM**

**Mount Saison**

Pete panted as he laid down on his back and pressed a hand against his forehead as the brainwashing effect was more painful when it was going off than it was triggered, he felt as though his head had been bashed against a stone wall.A few tears slipped out of his eyes, they were also very sore and bloodshot, he dreaded to think about what was in the potion that George had given him, somehow he did not think it was supposed to be like this, he was having a very bad reaction to it.

“Don’t worry the pain will fade soon at least you’re not having a fit this time,” Shadow said as he knelt beside him.

“Don’t worry? Do you have…. Any idea… How painful this is? I-I feel like… My skull is being crushed!” Pete snapped then screamed. “C-can’t you… M-make it stop?”

Shadow sighed as he picked up a bottle from his satchel. “This will take the edge off, this is what I had given you last time.”

Pete did not reply, his mind had just gone blank, he felt dizzy like the world had been given a hard hit and was spinning a lot quicker than it usually did. 

"Swallow," Shadow whispered as he held the flacon over him, he sighed as he realised he failed to hear him so pulled his jaw down slightly and poured a bit in. 

Pete blinked a few times then stared up at the sky, he breathed a sigh of relief as the pain began to fade. “Thanks uh-“ His voice trailed off as he realised he did not know the guy’s name.

“You can just call me Shadow.”

“Okay… Shadow,” Pete said though it seemed strange he was so secretive over his name, maybe it was an old fashioned one like Horace and was embarrassed by it.

Shadow put a hand on Pete’s shoulder and looked at him with a warm expression. “I’ll head out and get some food, you rest up here though keep a lookout for the Royal Dogs.”

Pete groaned as his stomach rumbled, it begged him to eat something, he then remembered how Varian had made him miss dinner which he guessed a fox had probably taken after he left. “You just think about food now?”

Shadow shrugged. “I get carried away sometimes, just be careful… You’re not going to have much energy since that potion had numbed you if you hear the Dogs hide somewhere.”

“Right… Good luck getting past the people, if they know you they will squeal so loud you will get a splitting headache,” Pete said.

“Don’t worry, they won’t notice,” Shadow said as he pulled his hood up and walked off.

Pete breathed a heavy sigh and sat himself up so he could take his tunic off, he felt too hot even though the weather was no warmer than it usually was, his torso was as bad as his face with bruises both deliberate and accidental, he had lost quite a bit of weight since the battle to which made him thinner than he already was. He had never been shirtless outside before, it was a big no-no back home but it was quite nice to feel the fresh air and the grass as he laid back down, he closed his eyes to make it easier to focus on his breathing as he still felt an ache in the middle of his chest, he hoped that would soon heal, he had coughed a few times as he felt as though he had gotten smoke in there. He was becoming badly ill in more ways than one, he did not see how much paler he had become in the past two days. He was not sure how he was going to manage when the time came for him to face Eugene and the guards again if he couldn’t stop crumbling in agony when the brainwashing stopped, every time it did he became feverish and weak. He had visions of Eugene with some of the men, they came at him with their swords out ready to take him down. 

"Eugene will destroy you as soon as he sees you, he is not a friend, he is the enemy… They all are, they don’t want to help you they want to get rid of you one way or another… You have to destroy him," an eerie voice had spoken to him. He started panting as his temperature shot up, out of nowhere Eugene, Joe, Phil, Greg, Matt, Rob, John, George and Dan appeared in his head, they charged towards him with their swords and shields out. 

"You heard the King, kill him!" Eugene shouted out. 

He fought with all his might, he managed to beat some of them but then he came across George. 

"Well, well, long time no see Peter," he said as he strolled towards him. 

"Get away from me!" Pete growled. 

"Hey, what would your father think if he could see you now?" George teased. "Although you will be joining him soon enough." 

Pete did not reply, it was a stupid question, he would not have died if someone had at least tried to help him out, he was still furious with David for kicking him out of the guard, the pair of them fought fiercely on the hill both had a few close shaves, it was hard to concentrate as rain poured down onto them, lightning struck the ground underneath which sparked a fire there he did not realise how close he came to the edge but George did all he had to do was give him a hard shove and he had fallen to his gruesome death. Normally he would have bolted up but instead, he had just shaken and panted more heavily which lead the pain in his chest to become more intense, he did not have a fever dream for years, he hoped this was not going to be a regular thing. 

* * *

**12:30 AM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra had spent the morning pacing her cell, back and forth as she was worried about Eugene unlike the other guards and her dad, he never wore the armour just the red jacket with the sun emblem on she wished he did at least while he was on the searches, what scared her was the thought of Pete being in a brainwashed state like she had heard from some of the guards... It sounded like a recipe for disaster as he could stab him or slash his waist with the sword, either way, would seriously wound him or worst still kill him. The armour would have given him that much-needed protection, that was Dan’s mistake, she had an experience of brainwashing people with the Mind Trap talisman. It was awful, being put into a position where you had no control of your actions, she could not believe a potion was capable of doing that. She paused, there was no way a potion could do that, could it? How come Frederic had not shown the same signs? They were on the same potion? What if Pete had taken something else after he had run away? If he was brainwashed, that meant someone was controlling him.

“Are you alright Miss?”

She turned and seen a guard she was not familiar with, though she remembered him from the time she and Eugene demanded access to the Royal Vault to save Rapunzel. He was one of the oldest guards on the squad, she supposed he was covering for Joe. The guard shortage had gotten worse as one had done a runner, one was sick and one had just been killed in cold blood. If there was going to be another big event on they would not be able to guard it, she imagined other Royals would not want to come over either though she imagined the King would not want them to see his Kingdom in such a terrible state anyway. She shook her head as she found herself digressing and sat down on her bed and watched as the man unlocked her door to hand her the lunch.“Can I ask you something?”

Will nodded, he did not see any reason why not, he guessed it was to do with her upcoming trial.

“Have you noticed anything odd about some of the other guards?”

Will blinked he was surprised she concerned herself about him despite her situation, he sighed again as he set the tray beside her and stood back up.“Well, I mean Pete has always been a bit moody at times but he seemed to have gotten worse since he started hanging around with some of the guys who have been good guards in the past but not exactly decent people.”

Cass nodded, she supposed he wanted to avoid mentioning any names in case they were around eavesdropping.“You noticed that this guy had driven him away from Stan and him becoming more mean?” 

“Yeah... Someone has been putting bad ideas in his head, getting him back into bad habits,” Will replied.

“He’s been on potions before?” Cass asked.

Will breathed a heavy sigh, he did not like to talk about the younger man behind his back. “I don’t know about potions but he did have a drinking problem in the past, Stan brought him over to try out... He was hopeless at first but soon improved and cleaned up his act.” 

Cass nodded, maybe that was what Stan was saying just before he had his memory wiped out, he knew Pete more than anyone. “Did you see Stan before he had gotten his head injury?”

Will sighed and given her a little nod. “Yeah… He had gotten into a fight with two other guards in the storage room, I did not understand what they were fighting about but now I regret leaving him… Joe had confronted him about it last night in the servants quarters when they came back, George had turned them to Dan who was the only witness, he got very anxious when he was put on the spot like that.”

“What did he say?” Cassandra asked as she leaned her head on her hand.

“He just said… Well, there may have been a little accident, that’s certainly an understatement, poor Stan’s got severe memory loss! Then he said he had done it, he had knocked Stan out and given him a forgetfulness potion!” Will said. “Now he is too sick to work so he will not be able to come back… I’ve heard he will pass away soon as his condition has gotten worse.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “I know, Eugene told me… He wanted to wait out for a few weeks but has been told by experts that the damage to his head is beyond repair, although Woodlock was able to make it a bit better with a spell but was not able to recover everything… He is thirteen or fourteen years behind in his mind, I am surprised Daniel had willingly admitted to it.” 

“Yeah… He had suddenly gotten a conscience! It does seem suspicious that he was killed that night though,” Will said. “George looked furious at him then dragged him outside, he’s hiding something.”

“Maybe he had caught up to Daniel in the woods and killed him to frame Pete so the guys would go ahead and shoot him, that way he would be silenced to and no one would know that he was the one who had spiked his drink,” Cassandra said.

Will breathed a heavy sigh as he put a hand over his face, he did not know what to make with it, he thought he had seen everything during his time on the Royal Guard which was a very long time starting from the last few days of King Johnathon’s reign but this was something else, he could not understand why he would go through all this trouble and cause so much pain to other people rather than just let things with Cassandra take their course. “George was in the castle at the time of the killing, it takes half an hour to get from here to Old Corona so he is not responsible for his murder… Either Pete had killed him albeit unintentionally if he was brainwashed or someone else did, you do make quite a few enemies on the guard… His Majesty has withdrawn the shoot to kill order… I heard he has made alternative arrangements.”

Cassandra sighed as she rested her head on her knees, it was a relief that he had taken back that order but she did not like the sound of the “alternative arrangements” either, she knew the old man well enough to know when he had a trick up his sleeve. “Is he going to be banished to the prison barge?”

Will shook his head. “No… He’s sending him to a place that is just as bad, he thinks he has gone insane… Although Princess Rapunzel and Captain Eugene had tried to explain that he had accidentally consumed a dangerous potion and is being played by someone… The people there will drive him to real insanity.”

Cassandra’s eyes widened again as she put the pieces together and figured out just what he was talking about, she thought being sent off to a convent was bad but asylum was even worse. She had heard things about it as sometimes people got sent there when they became too much of a bother but not enough to kill them off, they kept vulnerable people in dreadful conditions and subjected them to abuse. She had never cared about the guy before, he was not her friend or anything but there was a part of her that wished she could go out and help Eugene with his search and save him from that fate but she was stuck in a cell which she was still unsure whether she would get out.“Have you told Eugene this?”

Will shook his head. “No… I’ve been too afraid, George is scary, he threatened to kill me if I did.”

Cass sighed, some of these guys were absolute chickens, she never thought that Stan would be the bravest out of all of them the man who fainted when Rapunzel had burst out of the closet wiping a sword. It probably would have been better if he had not confronted George then and just seen Eugene but she understood why he felt the need to, he had to be told that what he was doing was not acceptable behaviour and he had just put his best friend in a dangerous position she stood herself up and stared at him straight in the eyes as though she was a commanding officer. "Come on, you are a soldier, you had vowed to protect the Royal family and the people of Corona, right now this man is a threat to both! I can't do anything in my situation but you can, will you stand up and fight or run and hide while people get hurt or killed?" 

Will gulped as he remembered the time she cracked her knuckles as she and Eugene busted their way into the Royal Vault, he flinched then looked left and right for any sign of George or his mates Rob or John he breathed a sigh of relief when he realised the coast was clear. "Okay... I'll try."

"Please do... This madness needs to end now, Pete's life is at stake here and if George gets off scot-free that would mean Stan will die in vain," Cassandra said as she crossed her arms and looked at the man with a stern expression just like she had done when she had temporarily covered for her dad in the battle against Varian.

* * *

**03:20 PM**

_Flora's Florist, Corona High Street_

“Are the posters ready? He’s been gone for almost a week now,” Lily asked as the Princess entered the shop with the guards right behind her. 

“I know… It’s worrying, I hope Eugene or the guys will find him soon,” Rapunzel said as she handed over the pile of posters which she had made herself, she had painted him from memory and written “Missing person” in big letters along with his name.

“I heard he killed one of the guards, he will be in a lot of trouble when he comes back,” Rob said as he looked down at her handiwork.

“Rob stop it! You do not know that, we have to give him a chance to defend himself, it could have been anyone!” Rapunzel snapped as she picked up a few posters and handed them to Rob and John. “Make yourselves useful for once and help us put the posters up!”

John rolled his eyes as he did not give a damn about Pete. “You know you're not supposed to be doing this, your father told you to help with fixing the cast-“

“Screw the castle! Whatever is broken in there can be replaced, a human being can’t! Nothing is more important than a person’s life, do you understand? Nothing!” Rapunzel shouted as she looked at the pair of them with a face like thunder, her cheeks turned red as she furrowed her brow and glared defiantly at them. "I order you to put these posters up!" 

“Thank you, Princess… I don’t know what’s going on with him but I know that this isn’t him, he is in a very bad place right now… I’m worried he will get hurt out there or sick with all these different potions he’s been taking,” Lily said as she put a poster up on the wall.

“Should have killer written on there.”

Lily jumped as she had not seen him there, she turned and frowned when she had seen George at the doorway, she did not know him but she was not getting a good impression. “What?”

“Oh, you haven’t heard? He is a prime suspect for a murder, a fellow Royal Gaurd,” George said.

“No, that’s just a stupid rumour, he would never do that!” Lily snapped.

“I know, it’s hard to believe that he is not the nice guy we thought he was, perhaps the whole goofy guard thing was just an act to hide his dark side,” George said.

Lily glared at him. “You don’t know him like Stan and I do, it’s probably you that had started that rumour!”

“George leave Lily alone!” Rapunzel shouted. “I’ve had quite enough of you for one day, keep it up and you’ll be out of a job!”

George huffed then turned and walked further down the street.

Rapunzel watched him like a hawk, she did not trust him... There was something about him that was suspicious ever since he had dared to tell her that Princesses were not to be heard.She snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of the older woman’s cries, she turned and seen her in a panic. Her heart sank as she feared something had gone wrong with the baby, she gently guided her to a chair behind the counter. “Here sit down for a bit... What’s wrong? Is it your belly?” 

“I’m scared Princess... Scared that I’m going to lose everything... My husband, my friend... M-My baby again!” Lily cried. 

“I know, it’s awful what is going on... It will be alright, we will fix this,” Rapunzel said as she put her arms around her shoulders and gently rubbed her back, it was not a “proper” way for Royalty to treat commoners or peasants but she did not care to her, they were just women, human beings, titles and social status did not matter. She could relate to Lily apart from the baby thing, she had feared she would lose Eugene and Cassandra when it came to the final battle. It was the uncertainty of it all that made it so hard as there was no clear way to save Stan, she did not know whether she would see Pete again. She hoped Eugene would be able to stop him from being taken away but she had a sinking feeling it was not going to be that simple, he might not even get a chance. 

Meanwhile, Eugene had returned early with a heavy heart, Max dragged his feet through the street as he had grown frustrated, the trail he thought he had run cold as they still failed to find him, Greg, Phil and Josh stayed in Old Corona to continue the search for him around there while Joe tagged along with him. 

"Why are you finishing this early Cap?" Joe asked. 

"There's another thing I need to do, sooner rather than later... Tell Stan's wife that I will have to strike him off as a Royal Guard, Woodlock is going to be coming to explain to her about the potion," Eugene replied then breathed a heavy sigh as within a few minutes they had arrived at his former employee's house one of the small cottages in the middle of the hill. He hopped off Max and nodded at the professor then taken a deep breath as he prepared himself to be the bearer of bad news and knocked on the door. He thought it would be a good idea to practice while he waited for her to answer. "Mrs Bader, I'm sorry but Stan's condition doesn't look like it's going to-" His voice trailed off as instead of Lily he had seen David at the door. "Oh hi, David... I guess the missus is not home yet." 

David shook his head. "No... She's got an hour to go until her shift ends... No luck on the search today?" 

Eugene sighed. "Well, we still haven't found him but we came across a couple of clues." 

"You can wait for her inside if you like... Stan's still sleeping, the poor man can't keep awake for long," David said as he moved the door back and stepped aside.

Eugene and Woodlock hesitated for a moment then entered, sadly they were not surprised to hear that Stan's condition had worsened, they had seated themselves down on the armchairs and watched as David sat on the wooden chair on one side of the room, there was a moment of silence before the young Captain had spoken up. "I was hoping that Stan would get better but after talking to Xavier and Woodlock, it appears that he will never fully recover from this so now I have no choice but to strike him off." 

David nodded. "I know, after seeing him I had a sinking feeling it would come to that, it's one of the toughest parts of the job... There had been times I had to let good men go when they had fallen severely ill or injured, you're doing the right thing Eugene. You're having an even harder time than I did, you've got Cassandra's trial to prepare for, leading searches for Pete on top of all this." 

"Thanks, David, have you ever dealt with men on potions like this?" Eugene asked. "I've known people from the orphanage who have gotten hooked on them, some of which are no longer with us... It's just awful stuff."

David sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, when Pete was younger he had problems with alcohol and potions... The kind that got you high as a kite, that was how he had lost his previous job at the old bakers, he had slept in because he was hungover and high... The baker who had taken him in kicked him out onto the streets for two years he was homeless as no one else would hire him so he went through this vicious cycle, he thought it was the only way to get his pain to stop so getting him off it was not easy... Stan brought him over to the castle to try out for the guard, I was not on board at first as he was a mess, he didn't look like he could look after himself let alone anyone else but after hearing his story I felt sympathy for him and decided to give him a chance, I thought it might be good to try after all to get him in the right direction, possibly save his life... He was hopeless through most of the training I started to think it wouldn't work out but then he surprised me."

"What did he do?" Eugene asked.

"He had come in hours earlier than training was meant to start and attempted the wall again, when I got there with the other recruits he was sitting on top of it, he was the first to finish the course on the final day to!" David replied, a small smile appeared on his face as he thought back on that day but now it felt bittersweet considering his current situation. 

"Wow... He turned things around... Unfortunately, he has fallen again, while on the search we had found a flacon in the spot where Daniel was killed, we're not sure what kind of potion it is yet but I'm going to ask Xavier to take a look at it... We also found part of Pete's uniform discarded on the ground, it isn’t damaged in any way so it's likely he had taken it off himself so now he either has a change of clothes or shirtless," Eugene said. 

"I think it would be the former, I imagine he would have wanted to get rid of the uniform after he had quit, it would be foolish to run around there with nothing on," David replied. "The sooner we find the culprit the better before any more people get sick or hurt." 

"It appears that he has also taken something else after he had run away as he had become brainwashed," Eugene replied.

"I think I know who has been distributing these dangerous potions," Woodlock said. 

“Ah great now there’s a potions dealer I have to catch,” Eugene said with a sigh and put a hand over his face.

“Who?” David asked.

Woodlock breathed a heavy sigh as he faced the former Captain. “The Shadow Man, he used to be in Cain’s gang but since their leader is in His Highness’ prison... He had to find something else to do, he plays people, picks them when they are low... It looks like he has become very skilled at it.”

* * *

**03:50 PM**

_Corona High Street_

Shadow sneaked into town through the alleyways and behind the shops, a lot of people were too occupied with their tasks to notice a strange man sneaking around apart from one person. “You got my money?” 

George nodded and handed over a small sack of coins, Shadow opened it up and taken a quick check to make sure it was all there. “Better speed up, the guinea pig is getting tired, he will be lucky if he lives to see the end of the month.” He sighed as he handed the red flacon over. “Try to be more subtle this time... People talk and get suspicious.”

“I know... I’ve had two of the men onto me but I have dealt with them,” George replied then slid the flacon into his satchel, he watched as Shadow nodded then slinked back into the shade and crept further down the street, the evil guard turned and checked his surroundings once he was sure the coast was clear he strolled out of the shadows but then ran into one of the elder men on the guard. 

“What were you up to Evans?” Ron asked as he stared him down. 

George paused as he stared back at him like a startled deer although it became a daily thing for him to think on his feet. “I thought I had seen something in that alleyway but it was just a stray cat.”

Ron raised an eyebrow, he was not convinced in the slightest, he had seen his eyes dart back and forth and his expression looked nervous. “Hmm, I can only trust you as far as I can throw you and that is not very far... You seem like a very toxic person every time someone gets close to you they get hurt one way or another, Will had gone down to give the prisoners their lunch and I haven't seen him since... He was supposed to be at the Castle gates." 

"Ah, put a sock in it, Ronald... He probably just did a runner, he's always been a chicken," George said then turned his heel and walked away. 

Ron stayed still and watched him like a hawk, he had a bad feeling in his gut that he was up to no good for a while and now he was certain he had some kind of wicked scheme as everything bad that had recently happened was all linked to him, Cassandra's imprisonment, Pete going off the rails, Stan's memory loss and now Will's disappearance. He did not know how but he was going to get to the bottom of this and put an end to this madness once and for all. 


	24. Destiny

**05:20 PM**

_Stan’s House_

“Woodlock, do you know anything about The Hate Potion?” Eugene asked.

“Yes, it’s one of the worst there is... I hear that is what Peter has been put on,” Woodlock replied.

“Is it supposed to brainwash the taker and turn their eyes red?” Eugene asked.

“No... That must be something else that’s causing that or it’s a modified version which is even more dangerous as goodness knows what’s been put into it. He could already be sick from the cocktail of potions he seems to have been put on... There will come a point where his body can’t take it anymore,” Woodlock said.

“If this isn’t stopped soon he will die?” David asked.

Woodlock looked at the former and the current Captain with a grave expression and slowly nodded. “Indeed, it could be a very painful death... I hope you find him before it’s too late the ordinary version of The Hate Potion isn’t usually life-threatening but if made stronger or combined with something else it's lethal.”

Eugene was speechless, he had never been close to Stan or Pete as much as he was with Lance but since he had taken over as Captain they had started becoming mates. It hurt him to think that he could lose both of them, the prospect of one of them passing away was bad enough. They were just like ten or so years older than him, it was far too soon for them to die. This made him more scared for Pete as he failed to understand the danger he was in, he didn’t even know he was on The Hate Potion. He had a very bad feeling in his gut that someone had him and was planning to string him along in their wicked scheme. He glanced over at David, he looked deep in thought and as worried as he was.

The men were snapped out of their thoughts as Patch’s barking broken the moment of silence, the small pup dashed across the room and headed for the door which he did whenever there was a knock or opened.

“Captain Eugene?” Lily gasped as she entered the sitting room with her eager puppy by her side.

Eugene sighed as he stood himself up, he cringed at the thought of how he had gotten Stan’s and Pete’s surnames mixed up when he practised outside. He had taken a deep breath and looked back at her with a serious but calm expression.

“Mrs Bader, I have come to talk to you about your husband Stanley... You might want to sit down first as this will be upsetting to hear.”

Lily glanced down at the floor then looked back at him with tears in her eyes. “You’re going to strike him off now... It’s only been two days, he could still recover some time, you said you were going to wait a few weeks!”

“I know... I’m sorry, I should not have said that and given you false hope,” Eugene said he had taken a deep breath and continued. “I have talked to people who are knowledgeable in potions and magic, they have told me that the damage to his head is beyond repair... Stanley is not going to recover... He will pass away in a couple of months.”

“It has damaged the part of the brain that stores our memory... Sadly there is no effective cure for it, I have tried casting a memory charm but I was only able to recover some of it,” Woodlock said. “There’s nothing more either Xavier or myself can do.”

Lily did not reply, her mind had gone black, she put her head on her hands and just broken down.

“I’m very sorry Mrs Bader, I wish there was a way we could fix this,” Eugene said, although he was not expecting her to be okay it still pained him to see her like this. “It was a pleasure working with him even though it was for a short time.”

Lily nodded. “Xavier had already told me but thanks for stopping by anyway... I guess I have just been in denial... You have just cleared it up for me.”

Eugene sighed and brought himself back up. “Take care… I am going to try my best to find the culprit who has hurt your husband.”

Lily nodded again but avoided meeting Eugene’s eyes, her emotional support animal came to her side and put his paws on her legs, she did not reply she could not think, she was exhausted both emotionally and physically, not only did her abdomen ache she had a pounding headache to.

Eugene was about to speak again but paused, he was unsure what to say, goodnight? Good evening? Neither of those sounded right after just giving her devastating news, he just nodded and seen himself out alongside Woodlock he supposed she wanted to be alone now.

David had taken the hint to but thought he ought to try to give her some reassurance before he left. “I’m sorry you are being put through this Lilian… I’ll make sure that Stanley’s… Passing is as peaceful as possible.” It surprised him how much it pained him to think about, they had never been close but he was a good friend, he was there for him when he was at his lowest and found himself doing the same in return even though he did not have to and was still going through a very difficult time himself.

“How was Stan today?” Lily said. 

“He slept through most of the morning… We got to talk for a bit then he drifted off again, he can’t seem to stay awake for very long and has been having headaches since he is sleeping too much but can’t help it,” David replied. “I’ll still come and watch over him for you.”

Lily nodded, she appreciated his help although she wished she could stay with him but she had to go to work, there was no other way to bring money in or food on the table if the baby survived she would be the sole provider for him/her so it would not be good for her to leave. “Thanks, Dave.”

“You’re welcome, he may be awake now or a bit later… Take care,” David said then seen himself out of the small cottage.

* * *

**05:40 PM**

_Corona High Street_

“Joe!”

Joseph jumped for a second at the sound of a man calling out to him, he turned and seen Ron with a worried look on his face.

“What?”

“Where is the Captain?” Ron asked. “I need to talk to him, Will has gone missing, he should have been at the castle gates when he had finished giving the prisoners their lunch!”

Joe sighed as he bowed his head, he thought oh this is just great another one has disappeared. “He’s at Stan’s house he has to break some bad news to his missus... He’ll be done soon... Jeez, we’re dropping like flies these days.”

“I know, first Pete then Stan and now Will! It’s too much at once to be coincidental!” Ron exclaimed. “George is up to something, it seems he has been for a while now.”

“I thought that was Daniel who did Stan’s head in?” Joe asked. “If Captain was not already in bed I would have dragged him to the office myself... Scumbag.”

Ron sighed. “Yeah, I have a hunch that they were in cahoots!”

“Wow that’s a big accusation, do you have anything to prove it?” Joe asked.

“Not exactly, I need to find some evidence... I guess that was Stan’s problem when he tried to expose him, we should search his place... Look for any discarded flacons, ingredients, things like that!” Ron said.

Joe nodded. “Yeah... We could do that, do you know where he lives?”

“Yeah, it’s not far from here,” Ron replied.

“Okay... We can talk to the Captain later,” Joe said then tugged at the reins to get the horse to turn round, in the distance he spotted Eugene and Max. “Oh, there he is… That went quicker than expected.”

“Captain!”

Eugene groaned as often when they called him that it meant something bad had happened. “What now?”

“Will is missing! I have tried asking around but none of the other guys has seen him, not even Rob or John!” Ron cried.

Eugene had no words, just when he thought it could not get any worse, it did and he did not need any more stress with everything he already had going on, he felt like screaming if he had a helmet he probably would take a moment to let it out in it but he had to keep a cool head.

“Guess that’s two people we will have to look out for now… Where was the last time you had seen him, Ron?”

“Near lunchtime… He was on meal duty and should have been at the gates when I left to patrol the town!” Ron said.

“Okay… Uh I’ll get some more men to help, one group looks for Pete, the other Will,” Eugene said. “They may have some idea of where to start looking.”

“I think George has done something to him, Captain… If he had the opportunity he would have made Stan disappear to!” Ron exclaimed.

“You think George has kidnapped Will? How would he have time for that?” Eugene asked.

“He has been acting suspiciously Captain, I had seen him lurking around in an alleyway,” Ron said.

“Hmm, that does sound strange… We can talk more in my office,” Eugene said then given Max the signal to move out.

“Don’t worry Ron, we’ll get through this,” Joe said. “Once we’ve gotten rid of the rotten apples we will better and stronger.”

Ron sighed as he walked alongside them, he found it hard to believe, he seemed to get away with everything even murder, he was very good at covering his tracks.

The three of them became lost in their thoughts they had not noticed David behind them, he looked horrified by what he had just heard, the thought of one of his men harming his comrades made his blood boil even though he had always known George was a jerk he never thought he would have stooped low enough to make Stan terminally ill if that was the case did that mean he was the one who had manipulated Pete to turn his back on everyone. He turned and walked down the street, along the way he had noticed something new on the wall, it had a rough sketch of Pete’s face with the helmet as Rapunzel did not remember what his hair was like, it was not often she had seen him without it. He breathed a heavy sigh as he thought back on what Woodlock said about how a modified version of The Hate Potion has the potential to be lethal, in which case the younger man could be poisoned. He had considered going out to the woods to find him and try to save him from himself when he had heard of his escape, he was just about to but then he had seen Stan and changed his mind and focused on caring for him instead although that had proved to be harder than he first thought. He had a bad feeling in his gut that Pete was going to end up going in the same direction as Cassandra or by the time Eugene and the men find him it would be too late, he turned his head and looked in the direction of Old Corona as he wondered if he should try to reach out to him again.

* * *

**08:20 PM**

_Mount Saison_

“Hey, how’s the Dragon Warrior?”

Pete stirred, he had completely lost track of time since he had fallen asleep again, he still felt exhausted and hungry, he did not even have the energy to get up. He looked up at Shadow who held a lamp, he could not see his face clearly but enough to recognise him, he knelt and examined his torso he seemed surprised by the state he was in.

“Yikes, no wonder you are so weak, you look like you haven’t eaten in days… Ouch, those bruises look very nasty, picked a fight while drunk didn’t you?”

Pete glared at him, he hated being described as “weak” like he was some poor soul that needed to be saved or he would die, he flinched when Shadow touched his chest a part of him felt scared about what he was going to do.

“Easy, I’m not going to hurt you,” Shadow whispered. “Have you been like this all day?”

“Y-Yeah, I’m still hot… What had taken you so long? Where did you go for food?” Pete asked. “Saporia?” 

Shadow chuckled. “I had some business to take care of, first let’s sort out these bruises and then get some food in you.”

“Wouldn’t I end up throwing it back up? I feel shit right now,” Pete said. “Don’t know if I can even manage a ham sandwich.”

Shadow did not reply right away as he rummaged through his satchel and pulled out a flacon with an amber coloured liquid. “Maybe you ought to try this.”

Pete groaned, he hated potions, he made the mistake of getting hooked on them in his twenties. His body was fighting fiercely against it by turning up his temperature or making him throw up what little he had left in his stomach. “W-What makes you so sure that would be better?”

“Unlike that idiot George, I’m a professional when it comes to these things, it looks like you need something stronger,” Shadow said in a hushed tone, he bent down so his face was very close to his. “Don’t you trust me? I could have let that scumbag Dan poison you or the dogs take you away, possibly kill you to but instead I stuck my neck out to save your ass.”

Pete froze as he stared at him with wide eyes, he was very scary when he was irritated, he gulped as he felt a pang of guilt he thought what he said was true, he didn’t have to do that or stick around to try and teach him to fight better but he did. “Y-Yeah… Sorry, I’m just scared… About what’s going to happen to me.”

The expression on Shadow’s face softened then put on a fake smile. “I know, I would be if I was in your position, they have pretty much given up on finding me or forgotten… But I am going to be there for you, all the way.”

Pete still felt butterflies in his stomach as he felt the man’s hot breath on his face and his hand still rested on his chest, there was still a part of him that was nervous as he moved back and opened the flacon, unsure if this would be as safe as he says it is.

“Drink, you’ll feel better,” Shadow whispered as he passed it to him.

His hand franticly shook as though his body was protesting strongly against it or he was just nervous but he took it anyway, he coughed a few times as it was very strong and tasted horrible. “W-what kind of stuff is in that?”

“All sorts, don’t worry, you know what they say… What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Shadow said.

Pete sighed, being killed was what he was afraid of, he coughed again then looked down at his torso within minutes the bruises and cuts disappeared, only the scar over his right eye remained, his temperature had gone back to normal and the heartburn had finally stopped but then he became dizzy like he had been spun around several times.

“Yeah you will feel a bit lightheaded and tired but it won’t be for long, just take it easy for now Dragon Warrior,” Shadow said. “As with all potions, it has side effects.”

“W-Why are you calling me… Dragon Warrior? I’m not a dragon or a warrior,” Pete asked as he looked back at him.

“Oh you will be soon, look up at those stars up there,” Shadow said and pointed up at the dark sky.

Pete did but he still did not understand what he was saying. “You’re not making any sense, are you making this stuff up?”

“Those stars there, form a picture of a dragon flying… All your life you have been pushed around, mocked, bullied by your peers, they call you a weakling, an idiot but you are a strong, resilient and brave man everything the dragon symbolises, there will soon come a time when you will be free to spread your wings and fly! Those guys over there do not want that, they want to keep you down, lock you in a cage and leave you to waste away for the rest of your days, now you have shown your true colours they are afraid of you! They will break your spirit and do anything they can to put out the fire in your heart!” Shadow said.

Pete did not reply, he was speechless as he looked back at the stars and seen a large dragon taking flight, he remembered the time they were ordered to hunt a dragon down and the relief he felt when Rapunzel cancelled it. He had always known dragons to be these terrifying and incredibly dangerous creatures but maybe that was because they had been demonised so much by people who feared them more than anything, they were misunderstood and feared people more as they were capable of doing a lot more harm. He never thought he would feel like he could relate to dragons during his days at the orphanage he was picked on for being thin and weak, the bullying did not stop after he left it just got worse… He had to show them that he had enough, he was not going to be pushed around anymore, become the warrior he was destined to be. Ironically he failed to realise he was being strung along by another man who claimed to be his friend.

* * *

**6:30 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra leaned against the wall and looked through the small window, how she longed to get out there again before the whole thing with Zhan Tiri started she had hopes of going on adventures in lands as far as she could travel with Fidella and Owl, maybe even her dad if he wanted to tag along but sadly that seemed as likely as another Sundrop flower descending onto the Sunshine Kingdom again. She sighed as she thought of her upcoming trial that was just a week away, she had no idea what she was going to say for herself when she faced Frederic again, she had never been in this much trouble before. She knew he had toughened up a lot since Rapunzel’s disappearance and even more so after the battle, she doubted he would care if she was not guilty of assaulting a Royal Guard or not, he did not even care if Pete was the one who killed Daniel he already had arranged for him to be taken to the Mad House, originally he was going to have him shot to death!

“I can’t believe it, Will has gone missing!”

Her ears pricked up at the sound of a man’s voice, she turned around and seen another one of the guards who she was not familiar with, he was quite tall and muscular, he had a round face, light-skinned although not as pale as Pete, his skin tone was more like her dad’s, he had a long brown moustache and a small goatee. Beside him there was another guard who was also tall but quite thin, he did not show much muscle, he was light-skinned to, he had an oval-shaped face and a short brown moustache.

“I know Bob, poor Ron is worried sick for him, he’s his best mate! It’s awful what has been going on, first Pete goes off the rails then Stan suddenly becomes incapacitated and now Will has disappeared! There won’t be any guards left if this carries on!” Mike exclaimed.

“What happened?” Cassandra asked.

The men paused and turned to her.

“All we know is Will has been missing since he had finished meal duty, we now have to search for him as well as Pete, as if we don’t have enough to do!” Bob said.

“Yeah… Things have been crazy lately, I just hope he will be alright… He’s quite old so he is not very strong, at least not as much as he used to be, he is supposed to be retiring in a couple of months, I don’t see why anyone would take him though, what’s the point in that?” Mike said.

Cassandra’s eyes widened in shock, she could not believe it, he seemed so sure that they were alone, she sighed as she bowed her head and put a hand over her eyes to calm herself down then looked back at them. “To silence him… Like Stan, he knew too much so he had to get rid of him.”

“What?” Bob asked as he furrowed his brow.

“Who?” Mike asked.

Cassandra sighed as she hated having to repeat herself, it was a wonder how they had not even caught on yet, she had taken a deep breath and then spoke. “George.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah you just had to go there didn't you Shadow? Pull the destiny card like a certain demon we all know and hate! 
> 
> Oooh the walls are closing in on George, his messed up plans are about to blow up in his face! Haha! She's not scared of him anymore and she's not going to let him get away with this.


	25. Untangling The Web

**Wednesday 9:30 PM**

_Mount Saison_

The air became chilled, the two men sat together in their little camp, finally had dinner although it was not much just a couple sandwiches it was a start to ease the growls of their stomachs.

“Feel better now? You don’t seem yourself when you’re hungry,” Shadow said with a dark chuckle.

“A bit… Thanks,” Pete replied then looked down at the ground, he held a hand over his abdomen as it still felt sore, he hoped he would be able to keep it down and there was a part of him that was still afraid of the upcoming battle against his ex co-workers. 

“I see you still feel nervous,” Shadow whispered as he put his hands on his shoulders, he noticed the hate potion was starting to wear off, he had worked on the kinks of the other version so hopefully it would not make him feel so sick, he had thought of slipping it into him while he slept. He decided against it, his body needed a break, maybe he could talk him into taking it himself in the morning.

“Yeah, all those guys… How am I going to take them all on?” Pete asked.

“You’ll be fine… You will be much stronger than you are now, you’re the Dragon Warrior, I’ll be there to guide you unlike some I keep my promises,” Shadow said as he given his "friend" a sideways glance. 

Pete sighed as he thought of his dad, for years he had resented him for giving up on him but when he found out the truth in the worst way possible it broke his heart. In the past, he hated Guardian’s Day as he felt that it rubbed in the fact that he had neither mother nor father in his face, seeing kids strolling around with their parents without a care in the world always so happy! He got annoyed when he saw little kids throw a tantrum over something petty like not going to Monty’s for sweets. He could not even remember his mom, he could only wish to see her again unlike Eugene he had no chance of reuniting with his dad as he was long gone, he never even got the chance to say goodbye to him properly. He was in shock and confused when he left him at the orphanage he wiped his eyes as it began to brim with tears, he had thought back on what George and Will had said about his dad.

_‘He killed himself.’_

_‘He was a terrible father, no wonder Pete is so messed up.’_

It hurt him like arrows in his back as he imagined his dad’s death, in the dark, all alone, what angered him was that it could have been prevented if someone had just reached out and given him some help! His dad could have picked him up from the orphanage and they would have lived happily ever after. If that happened then maybe he would not have gone down the rabbit hole of potions and alcohol after he left the orphanage, lost his first job and home, homeless for two years, no one cared, losers like him never got a happy ending just stuck on the sidelines. He was just Pete the Guard or the village idiot, it did not seem to matter what he did or where he went he did not fit in anywhere, no one liked him or wanted him there, just put up with him because they had to, it had pained him to think that if he had died no one would be bothered, he was just one of many, nothing special. 

“Hey, you okay?” Shadow asked as he heard him sniffle, he got closer to him and rested an arm over his shoulder.

“Y-Yeah... I’m fine,” Pete replied as he tried to stop himself from crying again, he had to be tough, ‘be a man.’

“I can see you have pain on the inside, you’ve had it really hard... Growing up in that crowded orphanage waiting years for your daddy to come back for you but he never got the chance,” Shadow said. “Once he was no longer useful Cap chucked him out and everyone turned their backs on him just like they are doing to you now.”

“I haven’t even done anything and they’re trying to get rid of me either have me killed or sent off to the madhouse! Eugene came in bothering me then kicked me out, he then got the guys to force-feed me a potion to supposedly calm me down but I wasn’t falling for it! That’s why I left,” Pete said. “I’ll never go back there... He won’t leave me alone!”

“Oh, that is awful,” Shadow said. “He crossed a line there, should not have violated you like that.”

“Yeah… It hurt, a lot,” Pete replied.

“I bet it did, they will get their just desserts,” Shadow said as he put on a fake smile and chuckled under his breath. “You know what they say what goes around-“

“Comes around… I’ve been hurt for the last time, I have always been a pushover but no more!” Pete snapped.

“That’s the spirit, you will show them!” Shadow exclaimed as he patted him on the back. “Pretty boy isn’t going to know what hit him!”

Pete laughed at the way he called Eugene pretty boy, he was so fussy over his appearance, his worst fear was a cowlick! “Sure he wouldn’t like having something shoved down his throat.”

“Haha, there’s an idea,” Shadow chuckled darkly.

“I was stupid enough to think he could be a friend… He did that to me,” Pete growled as he clenched his fist.

“You’re not stupid, it happens to us all, there are a lot of toxic people out there, you have to be careful who you trust,” Shadow said.

“I had always trusted them but once they got the chance they all dog-piled on me… They talk behind my back to,” Pete said. “My boss had spread rumours about me to so now everyone is scared of me and think I am the bad guy!”

Shadow sighed as he shook his head. “I know, I know but at least you can see who the real villains are and will stand up for yourself, that takes serious guts.”

Pete did not reply as he laid back down on his back, his anger faded away as he had become exhausted.

“Yeah… Rest up Dragon Warrior, got a long day of training tomorrow,” Shadow said, he looked up and seen a barn owl as it flew towards them, it swooped down and dropped a rolled up piece of parchment in his hand he opened it up and put it by his lantern.

“What is it?” Pete asked.

Shadow blinked, he thought he was asleep, he put it closer towards himself so he would not see any of the content. “Oh, just a little something from my friends on the other side.”

“In Old Corona?”

“Yes, Raven, that Saporian guy, wants to meet up again at The Poisoned Apple,” Shadow replied.

“Oh… Okay,” Pete said then looked away from him and back up at the sky, the dragon constellation, it was the last thing he saw before he drifted off to sleep again.

Shadow breathed a heavy sigh and looked back at the letter.

_S, The dogs are chasing me down, one of them had almost ratted me out so I had taken him to the woods and tied him to a tree, maybe he could be a good practice dummy for our pussy cat._

_-G._

“Talk about bad timing,” Shadow muttered and groaned as he glanced at Pete, in this state he was unable to fight anyone since he had a bad reaction to that version of the Hate Potion and the painkilling one. He had tried to figure out a way to make it less painful when he came out of the brainwashed state and last longer than a few minutes. He couldn’t give him another dose before he recovered otherwise he would have another fit or drop dead. If he did not have his own revenge plot against the Royals he would not have bothered to stick around with him so much. He would much rather not have to be the sitter but George was giving him the much-needed income from the potions and "caring" for his little friend. If he got caught and locked up that would stop, he flipped the parchment over, picked out his quill and inkpot then written his reply. Normally he would use a separate piece of paper but thought he needed to get rid of it anyway if Pete ever saw it the gig would be up. It would be enough to trigger the brainwashing and once he got his strength up there would be no stopping him.

_The piglet is sick so he is not going to be up for fighting tonight, I’ll deal with the old dog. In the meantime lay low, real low... Leave the city and get as far away from it as possible until this blows over and they completely forget about you being so busy chasing after the piglet._

_-S_

Shadow rolled up the parchment had handed it to the owl, he shot up into the air and flew back to the city, he had taken another look at Pete and he was relieved to see that he was sound asleep, he had put in a bit of the sleeping potion into the one he had just given him, he might be a bit cranky when he woke up after spending so much time in the land of nod but otherwise he would be fine. He sighed as he got himself up and ventured out to find this man who George wanted to get rid of. 

* * *

**09:40 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

“The one behind all of this is George, he had driven Pete away from Stan after they came back from the battle, he had manipulated him to so he would start resenting me... He had taken advantage of him while he was low and winded him up,” Cassandra said. “He thought Stan would fall out with him after their last fight but he is fiercely loyal to him, he confronted George and Daniel, Stan had figured out they were the ones who got Pete back into drinking and tricked him into taking the Mood and Hate Potion George could have tricked him into taking more, he was about to go and tell you so they had given him this forgetfulness potion to wipe out his memory and kill him.”

“Okay so he was the one who spiked Pete’s drink… Dan was the one who made Stan sick but he had told him to do it,” Eugene said as he put a hand over his chin. He remembered the time Varian had attempted to create a gas that would make people forget about the things he had done on Rapunzel's birthday, Quirinium, though now he was relieved that he did not succeed as not only would people forget that, they could have ended up forgetting who they are and everything else then slowly kill them. As horrible as it sounded the way the forgetfulness potion damaged the brain made sense as to how it would remove memories, he supposed Varian at the time had not even considered how bad it could be. “Wow even locked down here for weeks nothing gets past you Cass.”

“Yeah we have just been to his place, found some interesting things there to do with potions,” Joe said and pulled out a flacon from the saddlebag which came in handy when they were gathering clues. 

“What was the meaning of this? Why couldn’t he have just let things take its course?” Phil asked.

“He hates me... He thinks I am responsible for his mother’s death and that I destroyed his home with the rocks,” Cassandra said. “He was willing to get rid of anyone else who stood in his way, you need to move quickly otherwise Will could either be killed or have his memory wiped out.”

“That forgetfulness potion is lethal so either way he would die,” Eugene said. “It’s clear now that he wanted to ruin your trial, used Pete as a test dummy before giving this potion to the King or distract me.”

“Yeah… I think he had done that to Dan a long time ago, twisted him into becoming the cold, unfeeling person he was, George has very extreme views, if he was Captain he would happily kill all the prisoners,” Cassandra said. “Earlier he assaulted me, slapped me in the face and grabbed me by the collar of my tunic.”

“Right… Thank you for your help Cass, we’re going to go and find him now,” Eugene said with a nod. 

"No prob, another mystery solved," Cass replied, she breathed a heavy sigh as she laid back on her bed while Eugene and the guards dashed out of the dungeons, she felt immense relief knowing she would never have to see that man again and she was finally free from his cruelty, there was a part of her that wished she could be there to see him get his comeuppance. She could just imagine the look on his face when Joe or Ron put the cuffs over his wrists, drag him away then throw him into one of the worst cells, the one where the person is kept in total isolation. She wondered if she would get released now she was proved to be not guilty of her latest offence as she and Stan had untangled the web he created, she sure hoped so, it would be very unfair otherwise but then again, the big mighty King did not always play fair. She paused as she thought of Will, she hoped he was alright and that they would find him quickly. She was still worried about how Pete would be when they eventually found him, especially Eugene who still stubbornly refused to wear the armour, she could not believe someone could be reckless enough to seek out someone who had been brainwashed to kill with no personal protection but then again this was Eugene, he was confident enough in his fighting skills to not get hurt. 

* * *

** 10:00 PM  **

_Castle Third Floor_

“Captain, His Highness wants to see you… It’s about the search for Pete, he’s not happy that you haven’t found him,” Rob said as he appeared from a corridor on the left.

Eugene paused, he was about to shout Rob to tell the “Royal-Pain-In-The-Ass” that he would get to him later but then he had a bad feeling in his gut that George was about to slip him the new Hate Potion. “Where is he?”

“In the dining room Captain, he’s been drinking quite a bit lately, although Nigel has been trying to tell him to lay off no one listens to him,” Rob replied.

Eugene groaned as he ran a hand through his hair when he had taken up the position of Captain he did not think he was going to be dealing with all this drama, this was something that even David himself had never experienced. “Right, Joe, Ron, we’re going to see the King, Rob if you see George he is to be arrested for murder, assault, perversion to the course of justice and treason!”

Rob saluted. “Yes Sir.”

Eugene, Joe and Ron ahead and turned left, along the way they had come across Arianna.

“Your Majesty, what’s going on?” Eugene asked.

“Nigel told me that something is wrong with Frederic, he is drinking excessive amounts of wine,” Arianna replied.

“Oh no,” Eugene sighed, it was just like Pete, the difference was his ‘poison’ was beer and first time round the potion on its own, he had taken a deep breath as he prepared himself to face his drunken father in law and opened the doors. Joe and Ron looked at the King with bewildered and concerned expressions as they approached him.“Your Majesty, are you alright?” 

“No… I’m not, Eugene… That mad man is still on the loose!” Frederic bellowed though his voice sounded weird. “I have given you three days to find him and you have failed me! You are… Removed from your post!”

“Frederic, what’s wrong with you?” Arianna yelled. “You are not being fair to Eugene, he has been trying his best to find Peter and do not call him a mad man again! Stop demonising him, you do not know what he has been through! You have already done that to Varian and Cassandra then was surprised that they acted on their bad thoughts!”

“Your Highness with all due respect you do not look well at the moment, you should not make rash decisions like this,” Ron said, it looked like they were too late he had already taken the potion… Again. “You should go to bed… We can get someone to help you.”

“Guards are not permitted to question my judgment!” Frederic yelled.

Ron had gone quiet but he was still clearly annoyed with his boss, he had always given him the utmost respect yet he had just started talking to them with little to no consideration.

“Do not talk to our men like that! He is right to be worried about you, I was to, that’s why I came here… Now I’m furious!” Arianna snapped. “You used to tell me how awful your father was with the way he treated the castle staff and the people yet you are doing the same things, this is not the Frederic I met at that ball and I had fallen in love with!”

“Stay out of this Arianna, go back to our room!” Frederic shouted.

“I will not, I am sick of you bossing me around, telling me when I can leave the room and where I cannot go! I’m sick of having a group of men watching over me like hawks, you have no idea how irritating it is to have all those eyes staring at you all the time!” Arianna yelled. “I will be using one of the guest rooms tonight and if you do not start behaving yourself we will be divorced!” She then turned around and stormed out, she could not even bear to look at him anymore.

“Your Highness, this has to stop… I know you’re scared about Pete hurting Arianna or Rapunzel but you’re being too overbearing, this extreme level of protection is driving them away from you, it’s stressing both of them out,” Eugene said as he tried to reach out to him one more time, it was very hard for him to keep his cool as his patience with him was low. 

“I know they do not like this but you know how easy it was for Varian to take Arianna! It was the same with Gothel, it’s only temporary until Peter is gone!” Frederic said.

Eugene groaned then tried to give a reply but was cut off.

“Can’t you see Fitzherbert, the stress of this has taken a terrible toll on him, you should have found him by now,” George said as he emerged from the shadows.

“Oh, there you are, great saves the men time from searching for you to, Joe, Ron arrest him!” Eugene shouted out, even if this was the last thing he did as Captain he caught him.

“With pleasure,” Ron muttered then approached him alongside Joe.

“You can’t arrest him, he’s your Captain!” Frederic yelled.

For a moment Joe and Ron had frozen in shock. “What?”

“Your Highness, he has been distributing dangerous potions, perverted the course of justice by putting you on the Hate Potion, he is the one who had messed up Pete in the first place by spiking his drink! He had made Stan terminally ill with another dangerous potion that caused damage to his brain which I guess could count as murder and he had kidnapped William Harrison! His record is worse than mine was, he is not fit to be Captain!” Eugene shouted. “He was a corrupt guard, he did all of this behind my back!”

“Don’t listen to him Your Highness, he’s making all this up to save his job!” George yelled.

“Eugene these are very serious accusations, do you have any proof?” Frederic asked.

“Uh… I have witnesses, the lack of proof did not stop you from imprisoning Cass did it? You just went right ahead and got her locked up anyway!” Eugene said. "Seriously, who do you trust more? Me, the man who had brought back your long lost daughter when I could have kept her for myself like a certain person we know and hate, saved your life in the snowstorm and fought against an ancient demon or him? The man who has been playing you this whole time!”

“Well, this is awkward,” Joe said as he was unsure what to do now he had made him Captain, him of all people, he had done nothing to earn the honour of that position at least Eugene had demonstrated acts of bravery several times, did he just pick him out at random? It kind of showed how he did not take the guard seriously or respected them at all yet they were expected to lay down their very lives for him.

“He’s telling the truth, Your Highness, I’ve been watching him over the past few days… He is linked to all the incidents to do with Pete, Stan and Will, ever thought it was odd how he has been hanging around you a lot more than usual?” Ron said.

Frederic did not reply at once, he refused to believe it. “No, I refuse to believe that George is behind this, he is the victim here… Cassandra had assaulted him right after I made the mistake of setting her free!”

George gasped as he had specifically told him to keep him anonymous!

“He lied, Cassandra had never done that, I have David, the former Captain as a witness!” Eugene said.

“He could be lying, he would do anything to keep her from getting into trouble!” Frederic snapped.

“Even so he would never lie to you or manipulate you, he had always done his best to keep you and your family safe, unlike this villain!” Eugene shouted as he pointed at George. He put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment and showed it to him. “I had Xavier look at your medicine, it was fake and actually was the Hate Potion, which may I add is on the dangerous potions list and therefore illegal!”

Frederic looked at the letter with wide eyes and in bewilderment. “How do you know it’s George?”

“We had taken a little detour on the way back to the castle and searched his place, Your Highness,” Ron said.

“We found a few empty flacons and interesting notes,” Joe said. “Ron had also seen him behaving suspiciously earlier in an alleyway.”

Frederic gasped then finally the penny dropped. “George Evans, you vile traitor! Making me sick with that concoction! Take him down to the dungeons!”

“No!” George cried.

“Yes Sir,”Joe and Ron said then dragged him away.

There was a moment of silence as Frederic looked ashamed and embarrassed, he then turned to Eugene with a sorrowful look on his face. “Eugene, I-“

“What?” Eugene asked.

“I am sorry for being so hard on you… I have not been myself lately, I did not understand it myself but now it all makes sense,” Frederic said.

Eugene nodded, there was still a long way to go before he could completely forgive him but an apology was a start. “Just doing my job, sorting out the rotten apples before they spoil the bunch, you have to be careful who you trust these days, I will deal with him… You know, the charge Cassandra was arrested for has been established to be a lie she ought to be released now.”

Frederic’s expression turned hard again, he was not willing to let her go that easily. “She is still guilty of many other things though.”

“Uh… Don’t you remember the deal? She to be on probation for the next three months, helping out with the clean up unless she broke that agreement by committing another offence which she did not do,” Eugene said. “There is no reason to keep her prisoner anymore or anything to have a trial on.”

“I’ll take that suggestion under advisement,” Frederic said which infuriated Eugene.

“Ah come on! You’re just being spiteful now, you know just when I start to think I see a pinprick of a soul, you close up again… You cannot keep dragging this out, Rapunzel is sick of it, Arianna, David, myself even some of the guards are! If you keep this up you’re going to end up being a sad, lonely, old man,” Eugene said then walked out. He was going to give him some time out to think things over and he hoped he would finally come to his senses by the time he got back, he scoffed as he heard George fight against Joe and Ron, there were enough other guards nearby to help out but he still kept an eye on them that was until something with brown feathers caught his eye.

It was an owl, at first he thought it was Cass’ but this one was different this one was bigger, mostly white with brown and beige markings, he noticed it had a rolled up piece of parchment in his beak he opened the window, he came in, dropped the note on the floor then flew back out. Eugene knelt on one knee and unrolled the parchment, he had just found another piece of evidence on George’s antics, it also confirmed his concern that Pete was being taken advantage of by another person. He thought it was odd how they had different code names for Pete “pussy cat” and “piglet” it had not worked well as he had cracked it in seconds he shoved the notes in his pockets and walked back downstairs where he would have another meeting with the search teams in his office.

* * *

**10:20 PM**

_Mount Saison_

Will’s heart thumped hard in his chest as soon as he had awakened he struggled to break himself free from the long rope that restrained him to the oak tree, he had a feeling he left him there to be killed by brainwashed Pete which he thought was probably what happened to Dan.

“Oh, you are the man who had almost ratted him out.”

Will had frozen as his heart skipped a beat, he did not recognise that voice but the sinister tone scared him, he tried to push harder against the rope, he then figured this was someone George had been working with, who he had gotten those dreadful potions from. “You won't get away with this, Captain Eugene will stop you!”

Shadow chuckled wickedly as he emerged from the darkness, he knelt and put a hand under Will’s chin, he held a dagger with the other which was aimed right for his left rip. “By the time he and the rest of the hounds find you it will be too late… We were going to get Pete to do this but he is not very well at the moment so I am doing the deed for him again, any last words old man?”

Will kept silent, he was not going to give this villain the satisfaction that he scared him, he just glared at him.

"Don't worry, I'll make this real quick, at least you're not having to face the demonised Pete," Shadow hissed in his ear. 

As much as it pained for him to admit it, this stranger was right, it was unlikely they would find him in time, they probably would have thought he was in Old Corona where Pete was said to be hiding, he shut his eyes and praised himself for the pain of being stabbed in the rib. He just hoped that they would succeed in getting Pete away from this devilish demon before it was too late. 


	26. Hope

** 10:40 PM  **

_ Corona Outskirts  _

“Will!” Ron yelled

“Will!” Bob shouted out

“Will!” Mike called out.

“Will, Will!” Josh cried out, he was nervous about facing a killer who Eugene figured was the Shadow Man. He had a bad feeling in his gut that they would be too late to save him. They had no idea where he was, for all he knew they could have been gone in the wrong direction. What if Pete had moved out of Old Corona? They had been searching for him for three days and while they had found parts of his old uniform they had not found him. What if he had gone to Mount Saison? What if that was where George had taken Will? It made more sense as it was closer and it would have taken too long for him to take him to Old Corona. “Guys, I think we should look in Mount Saison, I doubt he would be in Old Corona, the trip would have taken too long for George he would not have made it back in time for his shift in town.”

“He wasn’t on time, he was thirty minutes late,” Ron said as he gripped the reins tightly. Although he was happy to see the git get his comeuppance he was worried sick about his friend, he was hopeful they would find him but now there was someone else out to kill him he was terrified. He was also furious, the reins quivered as his hands shook frantically, his horse sensed his tension to.

“Okay but it’s unlikely he would have left him here in the outskirts where we could easily find him! We have to move quickly before Shad-“

“I know that! I have no idea where to look, what if we’re already too late? If only we had moved sooner! We could have arrested George later!” Ron cried.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright we’ll find him... It looks like Josh is right, it would be far too easy for us to see him here... Let’s check out the mountain,” Matt said then led the way.

Ron had taken a deep breath and followed his colleagues, he found it very difficult to remain calm when his friend’s life was in immediate danger.

* * *

_**Mount Saison** _

Will blinked, a minute had passed and he was still alive, his killer was on the ground unconscious his jaw dropped as he looked up to see a young woman looking satisfied at her pan.

“Frying pans, who knew?” She said with a chuckle, she was quite tall, slender, she had short brown hair and blue eyes like Cass she wore a brown tunic and leggings. She then put it back into her bag and pulled out a dagger, Will was scared when she had drawn closer to him.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you... I’m freeing you,” the mysterious girl said then swiftly severed the rope. She put it away and offered to give him a hand to get back up.

Will shakily reached out to her and let him pull him back onto his feet, he was in quite a lot of pain.

“It’s okay, I’ll help you,” she said as she put an arm over his shoulders and put one of his over her’s.

Some guys would feel sheepish about having their butt saved by a woman but he was overwhelmed with relief. If had not been for her he would have died a horrible death.

“Thank you so much, Miss!” He said with a gasp as he looked at her, he was still shaken from almost being murdered he cried.

Meg had given him a small smile, her heart went out to the poor man, he looked quite old with his greying beard and had been through a dreadful ordeal.

“Name’s Megan, though my friends call me Meg... At least they used to, they died from being on the pot.”

Will nodded, he was very grateful to her, she kind of reminded him of Cassandra, a woman who was always up for a fight.

“How did you get tangled up with the Shadow Man anyway?” Meg asked.

“I-I don’t know... I was kidnapped and tied to that tree, he just came out of nowhere!” Will cried.

Meg sighed as she rubbed his shoulder, she started to think she ought to have killed that evil man instead of just knocking him out. “It’s okay, it’s okay... You’re safe now, I can take you back home, where do you live?” Meg asked.

“In the mainland,” Will replied. “By the high street.”

“Okay, how are you on horses?” Meg asked.

“Fine... I often have to ride them on my job, I’m a Royal Guard,” Will replied.

“That sounds like a cool job,” Meg said.

Will nodded. “It was a very good job but unfortunately one of the men has turned into a rotten apple... He kidnapped me and then that man came to kill me.”

Meg sighed as she shook her head, she could not believe how cruel people could be but then again this was The Shadow Man, he had killed quite a few people.

She sighed as she looked at him, he shook like a leaf, terrified. “That’s awful... You should tell your Captain when you get back.”

Will nodded. “Y-Yeah... When I get the chance I will.”

* * *

 **10:45 PM**

_Old Corona Woods_

Eugene, Joe, Phil and Greg went back out to search for Pete, Eugene did not usually do the night searches but they were short-staffed and he just wanted to get out of that castle or he would explode.

“Are you sure he is even in here anymore Cap?” Joe asked.

“I don’t know, do you have any suggestions, Joe?” Eugene said. “We need to find him quickly! He’s in very real danger right now the Shadow Man has him.”

“Shadow Man? Whose that?” Joe asked.

“He’s a potions dealer… He’s like an evil version of Xavier, while he uses potions with good intentions of helping people, Shadow uses potions to harm people,” Eugene breathed a heavy sigh as he bowed his head, he was so tired.

“Oh… He’s being played by someone else now,” Joe said. “Will he ever learn?”

“Hey, it’s not entirely his fault, he’s been strung along… George and Shadow have taken advantage of him,” Eugene said as he looked at the fellow guard sternly. “He was already low after the battle, they just made it worse with the Hate Potion and God knows what else he’s put him on!”

“He was a guard, no one should be able to take advantage of him so easily!” Joe replied. “How can he guard anyone when he can’t even look after himself? He keeps making the same mistakes over and over again.”

“Some people do, it wasn’t until later he learnt the cookie was laced with a truth serum and he had no knowledge of taking the Hate Potion, it was not some stranger, it was one of his own who had hurt him this time, someone who he thought was a friend… Completely different, some people know how to get into a person's head and twist things to make it worse, that’s what Zhan Tiri did to Cass,” Eugene said, he lost count of how many times he had said that he breathed a heavy sigh as like Cass he hated repeating himself.

“What about this Shadow Man? Why is he hanging about with him?” Greg asked.

“Well, he was lost in the wilderness on his own, in a bad state... Emotionally unstable, it wouldn’t be too hard for this creep to lure him in!” Eugene snapped. “He has been messing with him, dosing him with more potion which will make him so sick he could die!”

Losing one friend was bad enough but to lose two at the same time was just unbearable for him. He had grown desperate to find him, somewhere in the woods, he had collected quite a few clues but was still no more clear on his whereabouts.

“Pete’s trail ran cold here so he must have been carried off to somewhere else by The Shadow Man, Captain,” Greg said.

Eugene paused, he had a point. “Where else do you think we should look, Greg?”

Greg sighed as he thought about possible locations in the kingdom. “Where was that place you went with your dad to your sash back and ran into the Stabbingtons? Thanks to one certain twit.”

“Mount Saison,” Eugene replied then groaned as that was so far away. “You only thought to say this now Greg?”

Greg shrugged. “Well, we have been searching for this place for three days now and have not found him, chances are he has moved to another location.”

Eugene sighed as he bowed his head and given his horse the signal to move out. “Alright, next we will try Mount Saison.”

* * *

**11:50 PM**

_Mount Saison_

For once Pete felt peaceful as he had fallen into a deep sleep, his mind was blank as though he had been knocked out again like the other potion, he had tried it had a numbing effect so he did not feel any pain or the cold but once it wore off he would.

“Oh look, there’s Shadow’s little friend,” Raven said as he rode on his black and white stallion which was similar to Axel, he had Mel by his side, she grinned and giggled as she looked down at him.

“Oh, so it is,” she moved closer and knelt beside him. “He’s quite cute,” she reached out and stroked his cheek. “Ah, that’s a nasty cut he’s got there.”

Raven huffed and rolled his eyes, he got off his horse then strolled over to take a look at him, he was still very pale, his brown hair was a mess. He nudged his shoulder twice but did not get a response. “He’s completely out cold.”

“Shadow must have put him on a sleeping potion… I’ve heard he’s been very ill, poor dear,” Mel said.

“Yeah, he’s had a bad reaction to a modified Hate Potion,” Raven said then lifted him, he was surprisingly light even though he was skinny, he carried him over to his horse and flopped him over his back. “Speaking of which I wonder where Shadow has gone? Surely he would not be foolish enough to leave him out here while he is unconscious?”

Mel shrugged. “Maybe he’s gathering ingredients for the new potion, what are you going to do with him, Raven?”

“I was going to try and find Shadow, what do you suggest I do Mel?” Raven asked.

Mel smirked as she looked at him. “He’s not going to be very comfortable flopped over Spirit’s back like that for long, I could look after him for tonight or until Shadow comes for him.” She stroked his dark brown hair as though he was a sleepy kitty. “I’ll keep him safe from those nasty guards.”

Raven chuckled as he tugged on the reigns, he saw right through her and just loved how her foul mind worked. “Alright let’s go.” He followed the wicked witch as she led the way to her tower which was quite a long walk away, they would probably get there at dawn. “I will send Shadow a message to let him know that he is in good hands… Just as well we found him, I have seen the Royal Dogs come this way earlier.”

“Yes, that would be helpful, the guards will not find him there, he will be perfectly safe,” Mel replied then chuckled as she looked at him with a mischievous grin.

Soon after Ron, Josh, Matt, Bob and Mike arrived at the same spot they were so close to finding Pete, this would have been their lucky night if it were not for a pair of villains who had beaten them to it.

“Are you sure about this?” Ron asked.

“Yeah, it makes more sense to me,” Josh said.

Ron breathed a heavy sigh, he was afraid that they were too late, that this Shadow Man would have already done him in. “For Will’s sake I hope you’re right, I thought George was bad this Shadow Man is something else, goodness knows what he has done to poor Peter!”

“Yeah, he’s been played twice, that’s got to hurt a lot!” Josh exclaimed.

“Well, it is Pete you know, he’s always been too soft,” Bob said. “I feel sorry for Stan, he tried to save him and he ended up getting seriously ill.”

“I know, I thought they were best mates but Pete’s still running around the woods doing stupid stuff, he should have come back to support him, doesn’t he even care?” Mike asked.

“Well, he said he doesn’t think Stan is anything to him anymore so I guess not,” Matt said. “He hasn’t thought about anyone but himself like a certain lady we know.”

The other guards grumbled and muttered in response as they had been over this many times over the past fortnight, some were sympathetic on Cassandra’s situation others not so much. They paused when the horses suddenly halted, they looked ahead and seen a pair of shadowed figures one on horseback and one holding the reins in the distance.

“Whose there?” Matt called out.

They did not get a response right away but their eyes opened in shock when they emerged from the darkness.

“Will!” Ron exclaimed, he jumped from his horse and dashed towards his old friend. “Will! I was afraid that horrid villain Shadow had gotten you!”

“Yeah... This lovely lady here saved me when he was about to stab me in the rib,” Will replied.

“Thank you so much, Miss!” Ron cried.

“It’s alright, it’s great we have found each other here,” Meg said.

“Would you mind coming to the castle with us so you can tell the Captain what happened?” Ron asked.

“Sure, hopefully, you’ll get the Shadow Man off the streets for good,” Meg said, she tugged on the reins and led her horse forward to join the Palace horses, the men breathed a sigh of relief as they had found Will alive if only finding Pete could have been this easy although most hoped they would find him somewhat healthy and safely return him to the castle.

* * *

 **11:30 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

“How did it go?” Cass asked as Eugene passed by again.

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. “Still no sign of him… I’m even more worried now than when he first went missing.”

Cass nodded, the longer he was out there the more danger he was in even without George looming over him and whispering bad ideas into his ear, she heard some of the guys say something about a ’Shadow Man’ which sounded odd but she was curious to find out more and she cared enough about Pete to do whatever she could however little to help them find him. “What’s going on with this Shadow Man? Who is he?”

“He’s a potions dealer, he used to be in Cain’s gang but he had quit and has gone down an even darker path and now he has Pete,” Eugene said. “Woodlock told me that a modified Hate Potion could be lethal, goodness knows what else he has been dosing him with, they still plan to use him for something, not sure what but I am going to put a stop to it!”

“How do you know The Shadow Man has Pete?” Cass asked.

“On the way here I had seen an owl at the window, he was going to pass a note to George but couldn’t find him so just dropped it by me probably thinking I would give it to him, that bird was not well trained which worked out well for me,” Eugene said as he pulled the rolled-up parchment from his pocket and handed it to her. “Under normal circumstances, Pete being called a kitty cat and a piglet would be funny, those guys thought they were being clever giving him different code names but everything else they had written had given them away in seconds.”

Cass narrowed her eyes as it was dark at this time in the evening, she put her hands through the bars to try and get a better view of it, she secretly admitted it did sound funny but the things they were saying had given her chills, especially the line about him being sick so badly he was not able to fight and how George suggested that they use Will as a “practise dummy” for Pete which showed that he did know about the brainwashing thing that he had been going through. Just when she thought she could not hate that guy anymore he does something like this which made her just want to shoot him with a crossbow, she wished she could go out there and help with the searches but because of a certain Royal-Pain-In-The-Ass she could not do that, she was still going to be dragged to trial even though her latest offence had been proven by the Captain himself to have been false, he wanted to charge her for everything else.

“George and Shadow have been going hand in hand this whole time… Wow, it was bad enough with Zhan Tiri messing with me but he’s been played by two men at the same time, he is going to be having some serious trust issues after this, I doubt he will ever go back to being the goofball we have always known him as.”

“Well… I’m hoping if we find him in good time we will be able to save him from going as far as you did,” Eugene said.

Cass sighed as she shook her head and passed the not back to him. “It’s not going to be as simple as you think Eugene, imagine if you had caught me the day I crashed the Goodwill Festival, just after I had been encased in amber and attacked by the guards, a little talk is not going to be enough to bring him back on the straight and narrow, he needs to see for himself who Shadow really is otherwise he would not believe it, he has the same kind of hold on him that Zhan Tiri had on me.”

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh as he shoved the note back in his pocket. “I don’t want him to get killed like you did unlike before there will not be a magical stone to heal him, Stan and Pete dying at the same time is just too tragic!”

“I mean, it is Corona, you never know what’s around the corner... This place is full of surprises, take it from someone who has been there and worn the T-Shirt Fitzherbert, sometimes people need to learn from their own mistakes,” Cassandra said.

Eugene had fallen quiet as much as it pained for him to admit she was right if he had told Pete that Shadow was causing him to harm he would not believe him, he had already gained his trust by pretending to comfort him. “You’re right, Cass, it will not be so easy to get Pete away from the Shadow Man but the least I can do is be there for him when he gets hurt.”

Cass nodded, she was glad he had gotten the message. “Yeah, if by some miracle I get freed I will help, I might just be the person who could get through to him.”

Eugene blinked in surprise, this was not the cold-blooded, dead-eyed, Cobra Woman he had come to know over the past year. Despite how dark things looked for her she had worried herself about Pete, a guy she hardly knew or even cared about before, they were not even friends in the past. He was just a co-worker, a guy who often got on her last nerve but she put up with him because she had to. “Are you sure?”

Cass nodded again. “Yeah… I can see him going down a very dark path and he is not going to be in a good way when he gets out of this, I seem to be the only one who knows just what he is going through, I mean you have never been strung along by someone so much it convinced you to become someone you’re not, go out to destroy your home, hurt your family and your friends… Although I cannot relate to the potion thing I could help him with the other things.”

“Yeah… You have a point there when he is stable and clean I can arrange something, could be a good way for you to make amends as for once you would have reached an understanding,” Eugene said. “You could work together on the repairs in town.”

“That could work, hopefully, we’ll get a good outcome from my trial,” Cassandra said. “That is if His Highness will be in a better mood then.”

Eugene nodded. “I’m hoping he will calm down by then and start to think more clearly, I warned him that if he carries on acting like this he will end up being a sad, lonely old man.”

Cass’ eyes widened slightly as she found it surprising that he had said that to his face, called him an “old man” that was bound to hurt his ego quite a bit. “Good, hopefully, he will take the hint.”

Eugene crossed his fingers and put on a little smile. “We can only hope so… See you in the morning, Dragon Lady.”

Cass nodded and sat back on her bed. “See you then Peacock Man.” For the first time in a while she smiled as he walked out of the dungeon, she hated him at first but he had grown on her.

* * *

**Midnight**

_Mel's Tower_

Like Gothel’s tower, it was part of the remains of an ancient destroyed castle in the middle of nowhere, far out from the mountain, it had taken quite a while for them to walk there. It was unlikely that the guards would learn of its existence anytime soon.

“Where shall I put him?” Raven asked as he held Pete’s limp, scrawny body in his arms and followed her up the long flight of stairs, he watched as the witch walked ahead of him and looked around the room she had gotten the light from her twisted cherry wood wand. She turned and glanced at a small grey sofa she had on the left side. “Oh just put him there, I’ll give him a blanket and pillow,” she whispered, she moved aside and watched her friend like a hawk as he carefully laid him down, he put him on his back and stood aside. “Good night Mel,” he said then walked out of the room leaving her to it.

“See you tomorrow Raven,” she replied then pulled out a spare blanket from a drawer and gently draped it over him, she then slipped a small pillow under his head her ruby red lips formed a sly smile as she stroked his hair. “Don’t worry sweetheart, you’re safe with me.” She had taken a deep breath and started to sing. "I know you, I had seen you once upon a dream, the friendly look in your eyes is so heartwarming and I know how visions are more than what they seem, I know you will love me just like you did once upon a dream."

Pete groaned as he just started to come round, he was dazed and disorientated. "W-Where am I?"  
"Raven and I found you asleep in Saison so we brought you here so no one can harm you," Mel replied

"W-Who are you?" Pete stammered as he sat himself up, he was terrified to be in this strange place with a woman he did not know but kind of creeped him out. 

"Oh, don't you remember me? I am Melody from The Poisoned Apple, one of Shadow's friends from The Other Side as he says," Mel said with a giggle then rubbed his leg. "I could be yours to." 

Pete gulped as he stared back at her, he remembered her now but the flirting made him uncomfortable.

"Easy, I'm not going to hurt you, I just moved you before the guards caught you, they were very close this time, they arrived just after we left," Mel said. "That is twice they had almost caught you... You don't half get yourself into some muddles." 

"Where's Shadow? Did the guards get him?" Pete asked. 

Mel shook her head. "No, no... I do not know his whereabouts at the moment but he will be back soon, don't worry they could never catch him." She sighed and moved her hand to his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Just relax and go back to sleep, I've heard you have not been feeling very well lately, you need to rest." 

Pete stared at her, how could he relax? He had just been moved far out from where he was, separated from his "friend" and how could he trust this woman not to do anything to him while he slept? 

"Don't be scared, you're perfectly safe here in this tower," she replied which did not bring him much comfort as she sounded like the Gothel that had stolen the long lost Princess. 

Pete looked tempted to get up and scram so Mel picked up her wand and with a swish, she made him start drifting off again. 

She giggled as she pulled the blanket over his chest and stroked his cheek. "Sweet dreams," she whispered then left to go to her own bed. 


	27. A Helping Hand And Paw

****

**Midnight**

_Captain’s Office_

Eugene flopped on his desk, his head in his hands, he was exhausted and frustrated as he had finally uncovered the mystery but Cass was still going to be dragged through the mud, he could not understand why his Father-In-Law and boss wanted to put her through the trial so badly before he did not even want to do that, he was just going to keep her down there for the rest of her life. He had already dropped the charges that were going to be against her, he could not bring them back now could he? Corona law was weird and nonsensical but he was sure it was not that ridiculous. He jumped when he heard a knock on the door, he groaned as he sat himself up, he just hoped it was not more bad news like Will has been killed or George has escaped. “Come in!”

“Captain, I have good news we found Will and although he is shaken and a bit hurt, he is alive, The Shadow Man had almost killed him,” Ron said as he entered the office. “We had dropped him off home on the way here so he can get some rest.”

Eugene’s eyes widened and he even smiled a little, for once it was something positive and for a moment he thought things were finally starting to look up. “Have you caught The Shadow Man?”

Ron sighed. “No... It was Megan who saved Will, she had led us to the sight of the murder but he seems to have mysteriously disappeared at least we know for a fact that he is in Saison now… It was good thinking on Josh’s part to go there as he thought it was unlikely he would have dumped him in the outskirts.”

Eugene gasped as that name sounded familiar, it was not one he heard of often and he was shocked that he was actually in Mount Saison like Greg had said but was puzzled how he got away, he was snapped out of his thoughts when Ron moved aside and Will’s saviour entered. He was so surprised he jumped from his chair, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly as he recognised her instantly. “Meg! Wow, it’s been like ten years, how are you?”

“You know her?” Ron asked.

“Yeah, she’s was at the orphanage,” Eugene replied. “Back in Varderos! She was one of the older kids when Lance and I were there, she came back and worked as a carer, she used to tell us stories that she had made up herself to entertain the little ones.”

“I’m doing ok, wow you’re the Captain now? How did you get that far with your record?” Meg said as she looked just as shocked as him.

Eugene chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Uh… When I brought back Rapunzel he cleared me of my charges and the former Captain recommended me.”

“You have done really well for yourself,” Meg said with a small smile, she was impressed, she sighed as she picked out a frying pan from her bag. “This was my weapon.”

Eugene felt a burst of happiness. “Ah yes, the classic frying pan, my fiancé’s weapon of choice to!”

“Yeah, good for more than cooking, I always carry it around with me just in case,” Meg said. “Anyway, I have come to talk to you about the Shadow Man, it just so happened that I was out and about gathering firewood for my camp when I had heard the voices of Will and Shadow, he said they were going to have Pete kill him but he was not well and he had become demonised.”

“Demonised?” Eugene said as he furrowed his brow then it clicked. “Oh, the brainwashing thing… I have heard it turns his eyes red and he is suddenly driven to kill!”

Meg nodded. “Yeah, sounds like it could either be the imperious curse or a modified Hate Potion.”

Eugene blinked a few times as he stared at her, potions he could see happening but curses and spells? That had always been a thing of fairytales. “Imperious curse? That’s a real thing?”

“Yep, if you are magical like a witch or wizard, there have been times it’s been used on none magical people to get them to do their bidding, I have been there myself,” Meg said.

Eugene sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, being a test dummy for potions was bad enough but to have a curse put on him sounded even worse, he remembered when Woodlock told him it was likely something separate that caused the brainwashing, he blinked as he looked back at Megan as he recalled her saying she had been in that position. “What did he do to you?”

Meg sighed as she bowed her head and rubbed her arm. “I... Had gone down the rabbit hole of potions with him, he told me it would help stop my pain but it just made it worse… While we were dating he cast me with a curse that mind-controlled me so did some… Things to me.”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry Meg,” Eugene said as he gently rubbed her left shoulder even without her giving any hints he had been able to figure out what he meant by “things” as she had a look of fear and hurt on her face.

“Thank you,” Meg replied. “It looked like Shadow was trying to stop you from getting him, you probably would have found him by now if he was not hiding him… For Pete’s sake, I hope you find him soon… Excuse the pun.” She sighed as she walked right into that one.

“You’re welcome… I hope so to, it worries me what kind of thing this creep could do to him… Does he have a gang or work alone?” Eugene said.

“He has moved to another gang… They are fellow witches and wizards,” Meg replied. “Well, we have werewolves they might as well be a thing.”

“Do you know any of them?” Eugene asked.

“Well, Melody, though what her real name is I don’t know… She does to guys what he did to me, I know that sounds odd but it does happen,” Meg replied.

“Oh no,” Eugene sighed as he facepalmed, just when he thought it could not get any worse.

“Yeah, she could seriously hurt him just as much as Shadow… Trick him into doing things he should not do,” Meg replied.

Eugene nodded. “Right… Thanks for the heads up Meg, see you around later.”

Meg nodded then exited the office and Ron followed her.

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh as he slumped in his chair, he knew it was late but after what he had just heard he doubted he would get much sleep it was horrible when you felt so tired but you could not drift off.

* * *

**01:00 AM**

_Castle Dungeons_

Cassandra had the same problem as Eugene, she had twisted and turned in her cot, she was furious that she was still stuck in this damn cell for no real reason! She got up and started pacing again, it had become a strange habit of her’s when she felt worried, frustrated and furious at the same time. Was he on that stupid potion again? If that was the case he would not be fit to stand trial as his judgement would be clouded with and to hold court he would need to be clean to have a clear mind although she never liked that snooty adviser Nigel she hoped he would step in and get him to cancel the trial as he knew Coronan law more than anyone. It was typical she who no longer needed a trial was probably still going to be dragged to it and Pete who would need a trial to clear up the matter of Dan’s murder was not going to even get one, he had already arranged for him to be sent to an asylum, he had not even attacked anyone apart from the guards when he ran away yet he ordered them to shoot him on sight! It was so unfair. At first, she was overjoyed that George had finally gotten busted as she thought she would finally be free with every passing day the more she feared for that day as she was so unprepared, Eugene had promised to help her and was going to but then Pete had done a runner and had to supervise the morning searches and a bunch of other stuff.

She sighed as she leaned against the bar door and pinched the bridge of her nose, King Frederic looked like one of the worst Monarchs in Coronan history and there was quite a few of terrible Kings and Queens, she did not know much about his father but from what she had heard from her dad he was this bad. He had five different Queens which he had either executed or divorced for petty reasons, Frederic’s mother died shortly after he was born and Elizabeth’s well… Went in for the chop because she apparently cheated on him with a Duke. Yikes. He had said he was hard on the staff to, maids and other servants were paid pittance barely enough to get the bare basics, he was worst to the people, the taxes were very high, the level of poverty was at its worst, it did improve over time but there was still full orphanages some managed to get into a good living but many left unprepared for adult life and got into bother.  
  
She paused and looked through the small window and the dam broke, she had forced her worries aside and bottled it up to help with Pete’s problem but she could not take it anymore, she wanted her dad, she missed him so much. That was all she wanted but Frederic was still keeping her away from him, now he had her in his clutches he was not going to let go, to make matters worse she still had visions of a mind-controlled and demonised Pete stabbing her dad to death another reason she talked so much about it to Eugene or any guard who would talk to her. The quicker they found him the better as she would be able to sleep knowing for certain her dad was safe! She did not understand why this Shadow Man would make Pete kill him but she was going to try anything she could to stop it, she had a bad feeling in her gut that he would go out there and try to get him despite not having the personal protection of armour! Did he know about the brainwashing thing? Did he know about the Shadow Man?

“Please Dad… Don’t do it, don’t go after Pete… It’s not safe!” She cried as she leant her head against the middle bar and held onto another two even when she was not asleep she still had that vision that she never thought she would see and it scared her more than anything even Zhan Tiri herself. She was sure if she had seen the red rocks now she would see a demonised Pete standing over her dad with a sword in his back or just Pete holding a sword with the tip covered in her dad’s blood. “Please… Just stay with Stan.”

* * *

**Friday 08:00 AM**

_Mount Saison_

Shadow groaned as he was woken up, he was behind a bush, he got up and looked at the tree, Will was gone. “Damn it!”

He got up on his feet and stormed down the path, he figured someone had saved him and taken him back to the castle, he hoped George had gotten away alright, he was due to see him in a few days. He had frozen when he had heard the sound of horses galloping, only one group of people had that many horses, he peeked from behind a tree and seen four of them in the distance. He heard them shout his name out as well.

“Pete!”

“Peter!”

“Pete!”

“Peter!”

“Ah, it’s no use, he isn’t just going to come out here with his hands up is he?” Phil asked.

Eugene yawned and shook his head, he was more than tired now, he had not slept at all last night, he wished there was someone who could have covered for him like a Vice Captain, just someone to share the load so he did not feel like he had the world on his shoulders when everything went wrong. “Well, no but he might just come out… Keep your guard up, he would likely still be on The Hate Potion or worse the… Uh… Mind control curse.”

“What? Curses aren’t a real thing, that’s fairytale stuff,” Joe said.

“Well, we have werewolves, demons and dragons... Why not wicked witches and wizards?” Eugene said as he shrugged his shoulders. “What can I say? The Sunshine Kingdom is a very strange place, you could do a whole series set here, there is always something happening… New Corona is the place that never sleeps!”

Joe rolled his eyes and followed his lead. “I can’t believe Frederic got himself drunk last night, one time he got our names right, often gets me and that git mixed up even though we are nothing alike!”

“If he had offered you the job would you have taken it?” Phil asked.

Joe shook his head. “No, no.”

Eugene shot up and stared at his worker. “Really? You would have turned down your chance to be top dog?”

“Yes… As great as that would be, I would only take it if it is fair and square like if you turned out to be a useless leader but you’re not bad… Not same as Dave but okay," Joe replied. "George should not have had the opportunity to do what he did but when you became aware of it you had acted quick rather than just ignore it or brush it under the carpet like a certain someone we know with the rock thing.”

Eugene was surprised, he knew Joe was not the nice kind of guard, not as much as Stan or Pete was but was not really horrible either, he was the only one who had attempted to get Cass help when she needed it and let him have a little rant. Before he became Captain he had thought all the men were the same, he soon learned that was far from the truth, some of them were very friendly, goofy and some were hard, sadly there was the minority that abused their position of trust not only to the King but other members of the team. He wished Stan had told him about George radicalising Pete earlier then he could have put a stop to that much quicker, when he argued with him he wondered if he should make anger management part of guard training but then if they had taken a mood-related potion any teaching would have gone out the window. He was glad there were still men in the team he could trust even a little not to do either of those things although most were not in the least bit sympathetic for Pete as this was not the first time he made the mistake of consuming a potion that messed with his head but for his sake he hoped this time would be the last.

“Come out, come out, where ever you are,” Phil said as they rode further down the path, he yawned as he also felt tired from working extra hours and spending every morning looking for him. “This is ridiculous.”

“He was always more like a teenager than an adult, at one time I thought he was Rapunzel’s age but he’s nearly forty for goodness sake! I would have thought he would have grown up by now,” Joe said. “You have no idea how annoying it was to see him and Stan have a sissy fight over something stupid rather than you know, work!”

“I know, they had their… Moments but most of the time they were good, Stan had improved a lot since the battle, he had tried to confront George himself although it would have been safer to keep quiet he was scared for his safety, he put his own fears aside and fought him which is admirable,” Eugene said. “Although I do wish he had just talked to me instead then he would not be dying now.”

The men had fallen silent at the reminder that Stan was going to fall, they were helpless to do anything to save him, they knew that when Pete eventually learns that it would break his heart, he would likely blame himself for indirectly leading his best mate and big brother to an early grave.

Shadow gasped then ran away but was light on his feet to avoid unwanted attention from the guards or Eugene. He dashed to the spot where he and Pete where much to his horror he was gone.“Where did he go?”

Just then a blackbird swooped down beside him, he flapped his wings several times then turned into a man.

“Raven! Where’s Pete?” Shadow asked in a hushed tone, at the same time he looked over either side of his shoulder for the guards.

“Don’t worry, he’s in safe hands... Mel is looking after him in her tower, maybe it would be best if he stays there,” Raven said. “The guards came over last night looking for someone else but they got very close to finding him.”

Shadow sighed as he put a hand over his face, he was relived one of his friends had him. At first, he was going to do this on his own but they were insistent that they help out, he was glad they did. “Thanks for covering me, I had some business to take care of but that went wrong.”

Raven nodded. “Yeah... I had seen Meg around here lately, she was likely the one who got in your way.”

Shadow’s eyes narrowed as he stared off into the distance, that woman was a thorn in his side. If she went to the guards it would make things ten times more difficult, it looked like they needed to relocate again.

* * *

**08:30 AM**

_ Mel's Tower _

“Morning sleepyhead,” Mel whispered as she rubbed his shoulder.

Pete groaned as he awakened, he was dizzy like someone had spun him around many times. He could only open his eyes halfway. He did not even remember how creepy this woman was with her flirting or how she knocked him unconscious with her wand. He could not bring himself to speak, he grimaced as his headache came back with a vengeance and his stomach churned.

“Oh you poor dear,” Mel said as she stroked his cheek. “You’re very pale.”

“I-I think I’m g-going to be-“ Pete stammered as he sat himself up, he put one arm over his stomach and another over his mouth. He tried to get to where he thought the washroom was but threw up before he even got anywhere near.“I-I am so sorry!”

Mel sighed as she went to his side and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright, I can easily clean it up,” she pulled out her wand and with a flick, the puddle of vomit had vanished. “One of the perks of being... A fairy, magic makes cleaning a whole lot easier!”

Pete coughed a few times as he knelt on the floor, he could not understand why he was so sick, how did this happen?

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Mel whispered as she gently rubbed his back. “I guess you had eaten something bad last night.”

Pete did not reply, he bent forward as he held his arms over his aching stomach, he had a pounding headache to. Within minutes he had thrown up again, his body was fighting hard against something that should not have gone in there. “Ah!”

“It’s okay, you’ve had a bad reaction to... Something, luckily you did not throw it up while you were unconscious otherwise you would have chocked... That’s a terrible way to go,” Mel said.

Pete did not listen to her, he was in too much pain now that the numbing potion had worn off.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she whispered as she gently rubbed his back which had given him some comfort. “Have a lie-down, I know you were supposed to be training today but you need to rest.”

Pete went along with her as she led him back onto the sofa. “H-How could I have gotten... So sick?”

“Your body is hurt, it’s doing all it can to get it out... Looks like you had a bad reaction to that potion Shadow had given you,” Mel said.

Pete groaned, he started to regret taking it, he only thought to ask what was in it after not that he got a clear answer anyway. He closed his eyes and just tried to focus on his breathing, that was one thing that often worked when he was sick.

“That’s it, in and out, in and out,” Mel whispered as she held his hand, it seemed like she was worried about the amount of pain he was in. She hid the truth that his body was overwhelmed with the combination of potions he might have gotten suspicious. Although she did not expect him to stare at her with a fearful look in his eyes about what was happening to him. She guessed he wanted some reassurance that he was going to be okay and help, anything to make it stop. She squeezed his hand and stroked his hair again, she seemed to have a thing for that to. “Just take it easy, you will be alright... I’ll help you.”

“T-Thank you,” Pete said, although she looked kind of scary, he thought she was pretty sweet to be comforting him after he had been sick.

“Here, I got you some water, careful just sip it okay,” Mel said as she moved a hand back and passed him a cup.

“Thanks,” Pete replied and did as she told him then laid back down. It was odd being nursed by a woman he did not even know, last time he was sick with a bug it was Stan.

“You’re welcome,” Mel replied and put a hand over his forehead. “Oh, you're getting feverish.”

“Yeah.”

She left the room for a bit then came back with a damp piece of cloth and carefully placed it on his forehead.

Pete felt butterflies as she stroked his cheek, he thought it was curious a stranger was more kind to him than most people he knew. “Thanks.”

Mel chuckled. “That’s the third time you thanked me.”

“Oh... If it weren’t for you I would have been dragged back to the castle,” Pete said.

“Yeah... That was lucky Raven and I were around, they are meant to protect us all but some are just horrible... They hurt me a lot last time I was down there,” Mel said. “Called me names, beaten me up, thought they could knock the magic out of me.” She bowed her head for a moment then looked back at him with teary eyes.

Without thinking Pete had held on her hand as he looked back at her. “T-They had hurt me to, some bullied me, attacked me and tried to force-feed me that’s why I had quit... I did not want to be a Royal Dog any more, sick of playing fetch for that pig, he had spread the rumour that I was a potion addict and was going to kill people for no reason, just because I felt like it which is ridiculous but those twits would believe anything.” He sighed. “I’m really sorry you had been put through that Mel, they shouldn’t treat you like that.”

Mel smiled. “Thanks... I am sorry to hear you had been hurt by them to, you didn’t deserve that.”

Pete smiled, he thought she was sweet, maybe it would be good to be friends he started to have a crush on her.

* * *

**09:00 AM**

_Stan’s House_

“Morning Stan,” David said as he entered the bedroom, he was very quiet, his heart sunk for a moment as he thought he had passed onto the other side. “Stan? Are you okay?”

He was still unresponsive, David bent down and tried to feel for his breath like he had seen Xavier do much to his relief he was still breathing. Patch jumped onto the bed and nestled by his master’s side, he licked his cheek hoping to get a reaction out of him but much to his dismay he still did not even stir.

He got up from his chair and walked out of the room couldn’t take it anymore, he thought looking after Stan would be a good way to take his mind off his troubles and be helpful to someone. He had been so lonely since he had left The Royal Guard and even more so when Cassandra was taken away, he thought at least with Stan he would have someone to just talk to but he couldn’t do much of that with him going in and out of consciousness. He was struggling to keep it together as his own house was still a mess with piles of boxes of his things he had yet to unpack, the place was in a desperate need of a good clean and renovation since it was quite old, he had been so ill and stressed out, he did not have the energy to do any of those things. He had gone down to the sitting room and dropped into an armchair, he rested his head on his hand, his left leg shook frantically which often happened when he was very anxious.

Patch had followed him the stairs and stood at the doorway with his head tilted as he watched his new human friend who fed him his dinner and looked after his master. He had seen Stan like this quite a few times after a nightmare or a very bad day at this place called “Work” if this was his master he would go straight up and give him a paw the little puppy was a bit unsure about what to do to help him, he whimpered as it saddened him to see the big man cry. He was about to go back upstairs but then changed his mind as he thought even though he was not his master he looked like he could do with some comfort he slowly walked forward and got up on his hind legs as he leaned against his right leg that remained still. He whimpered again to gain his attention, he couldn’t speak but looked at him as though to say: “What’s the matter? Can I help?”

David lifted his head and much to his surprise he had seen the pup looking up at him for the past few days he had spent a lot of the time by Stan’s beside, he did not understand what was going on he was worried about his master. “Hey, Patch,” he blinked as more tears escaped from his dark brown eyes, he reached down and gently rubbed the pup’s ear. “Good boy.”

Patch kept quiet but wagged his short tail that often cheered humans up for some reason, Stan always laughed when he did that, he was adorable with his floppy ears and beige brown patch-like markings on his face.

A small smile appeared on David’s face as he watched over the small dog, he had started to see why people had such close bonds to their pets. It was sweet of him to try and comfort him even though there was nothing a baby dog could do to solve his problem he showed him some support. He reached further down as he carefully petted him, something was soothing about touching a small animal be it a chameleon, a raccoon or a small dog. He had never interacted with an animal like this before not even with Max, he could never have let the men see him like this, it was hard to hide his pain from them as he feared for the fate of his daughter who he had believed he had failed to protect her from evil. He paused his petting as he bowed his head and broken down again, he missed her so much! He was so scared that he would never get the chance to see her again. “I’ve failed! I’ve failed my own daughter!”

Patch nuzzled his knee and whimpered as he tried to reassure him that it would be okay but it did not seem to work.

“David? Are you okay?”

He had frozen up in shock at the voice, he supposed he should not have been surprised to hear Lily’s voice, this was her home, he thought she had already left for work but guessed she would in a bit she seemed to have some time left before her shift started. “Hi, Lily… Um… I’m okay… Just uh, hay fever… It’s the worst at this time of year,” he fibbed as he wiped the tears from his cheeks.

Lily did not look convinced and she had just been crying herself, she sighed as she walked towards him. “I know that fib… Stan used to say that when I had seen him crying, that and he had something in his eye,” she said then moved closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay to be scared sometimes… You have been through so much and going through a very difficult time right now as your daughter is stuck in the dungeons and awaiting trial.”

David nodded. “Yes… Not long now, just a couple more days, I am afraid of what King Frederic is going to do to her… He really hates her now, that blasted potion just made him worse!”

Lily nodded, she was going off him as he did not seem to care who got hurt as long as he got his way, he did not seem to show any concern about the welfare of his men. “I mean technically she’s been imprisoned over a lie so once that’s uncovered he should let her go.”

David breathed a heavy sigh as he thought if only things could be that simple, he would not believe it even if he told him that himself, he would just brush him off saying he is lying to cover for her in desperation to get her back. He was becoming just as his cruel and cold-hearted as his father was had replaced his mom shortly after she had died then killed her off and went on to have another two wives before his downfall. He was controlling of them and his sister which he guessed led him to think it was the right thing to do with his own wife and daughter despite proof that it only pushed them further away from him. He and Frederic had never been exactly best friends but in the past, they had a good friendship then at least that was what he had thought, in reality to him he was just another guard who was all the same so it did not bother him what became of them when they had fallen on hard times even though a lot of them had come willing to lay down their lives for him. He had saved his life once but did he get any thanks? Nope. “He wouldn’t listen to that Lily… He would use any excuse to get rid of her.”

“You can speak at the trial as a witness, he can’t deem her guilty then!” Lily said.

“That is if I even get to go, you know how Royalty is only blood counts as family… He doesn’t understand or care what it is like for an adoptive parent like me, in his eyes, I am not her real dad since she didn’t… Physically come from me!” David cried.

Lily sighed as she gazed at the floor if they were to adopt the child would always be looked down on by other Royals and aristocrats, though it was not just them that did not think non-biological parent and child relationships were not valid, it was no wonder the orphanages had gotten so full at the time the Princess was born and many years prior. She and Stan had never even considered adopting, she guessed they were so caught up in the hope of having a child of their own naturally… Though it did not seem like a good idea now considering how serious Stan’s condition had gotten, he was no longer capable of looking after himself let alone a small child either way. He was not going to be alive for much longer, she shook her head and focused herself on the point to give him the support he needed, it was the least she could do after he had spent hours every day caring for him out of the kindness of his heart. “Even so he cannot just punish her for a crime she did not commit… That goes against his own laws!”

David shook his head. “He does not even know all the laws of Corona… I don’t either yet I had enforced it for a living, I had forgotten about onus procedendi.”

“Maybe the Princess could do that... It won’t be hard to prove unlike with Attila there are witnesses,” Lily said. “He can’t argue against that!”

“Knowing Frederic... He will, he doesn’t always go by the book... Sometimes he does break the rules but he is the King after all,” David said.

“I don’t care if he’s a God, he can’t treat his people like this! Bend the rules when he likes and treat us like dirt!” Lily snapped. “I thought King Trevor was bad, I was one of his maids and the money he paid wasn’t even enough for me to buy much more than a loaf of bread, that’s why I left Equis... Corona looked like such a great place with more opportunities for me to do what I really want, now it looks like I had just swapped one tyrant for another!” Lily said in a raised voice. “He isn’t even going to give Pete a chance to speak as soon as he gets him he’s going to banish him somewhere far away! He’s being blamed for a crime he may have not even committed so whoever done it will get off scot-free! How could he be so bloody stupid?”

David stared at Lily wide-eyed she had always been so cool and quiet, he did not expect her to go on a whole rant. “He lets his temper get the better of him sometimes... That has always been his trouble since he was a teenager.”

Lily groaned. “He’s the most self-centred, arrogant man I’ve ever seen! He doesn’t care that one of his men has become gravely ill, no help now he can no longer save his fat ass!”

David sighed, he knew she was struggling to keep it together since the whole rock thing started taxes had spiked up so to once the taxman came around she had little leftover in her bag which she had to make last four weeks it just covered the bare basics, he could only see things getting worse for her after Stan passes if things did not improve she may have to give the child up for adoption like Nick did.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be snapping in front of you… I’ve just been all over the place lately, I hope things work out for you and Cassandra,” Lily said, she bent down and stroked Patch.

“I understand… You’re going through a hard time to, I don’t mind you speaking badly about His Highness I have been furious with him myself for snatching Cassandra away from me like he did and leaving me in the dark with what’s going on with her,” David said. “He didn’t bother to help me when Cassandra had gone away… I was left on my own, he had only let me keep her on the condition she did not cause any trouble but even when she had been found out taking Rapunzel out I did not get any say on the matter, Cassandra was disappointed in me for not fighting for her… I was stuck in a corner if I had even dared to protest he would have fired me and still taken her away.”

Lily sighed as she shook her head. “That’s not fair… What happened to Rapunzel’s hair that time was a mistake, she would not have felt the need to sneak out if he had left her to have some freedom… Heck if he had focused the rock situation it probably wouldn’t have gotten so bad, he started it by taking the whole damn flower, he could have just told them to take a petal or not touched it at all.”

“He had been warned but he acted on impulse when Arianna occurred some complications during the labour, she was close to dying from childbirth,” David said. “He thought it was worth the risk.”

“I know but he should take responsibility for it not blame it all on your daughter, he’s been doing the same to Pete about this Hate potion going around. Yes, he had been an addict but that was a long time ago and it was not anything like that, he’s relapsing now because he is being manipulated but he doesn’t give a hoot about his welfare just wants to get straight to the punishment!” Lily snapped.

Patch snarled and growled as though to say: “Let me at him! Let me at him!” He may be small but he was vicious, if he ever saw this Frederic he would get a full-scale puppy power attack, Pete was not his master but still considered him part of the pack and he made Lily sad that was reason enough to hate him.

David stared at the pup in concern, he did not understand why he was growling at him. “Is he alright? Did I do something wrong?”

Lily shook her head and gently stroked his back. “No, he can be a bit feisty sometimes, dogs are very clever they can sense your emotions, looks like he wants to fight the King himself,” she chuckled as she looked down at the pup he had stopped growling but was still tense. “It’s okay Patch, no one is going to harm me… You can relax now.”

Patch closed his eyes and laid down on the floor, he moved closer to his human friend and rested his little head on her lap.

“Don’t worry he won’t bite you, he likes you now,” Lily said. “He just snapped at you the other day because he didn’t understand that you came to help, he often gets funny around strangers.”

David sighed as he remembered that day well, he stood by Stan’s bedside as soon as he entered he growled, barked and snapped at him as he thought he was an intruder that he had come to harm his master, it was hard but he got him to calm down and gained his trust, the small dog kind of reminded him of Pete often yappy, small and feisty as he had always been willing to put up a fight. He knelt on the ground and slowly touched the puppy’s side weary to look out for his body language, he would back off if he bared his tiny teeth or started growling again but he remained calm and appeared to like his touch. “Good boy,” he whispered as tears streamed down his face, his anxiety had gotten worse since Cassandra was taken away and it seemed there was something else to but he had nowhere to go for help with that as it was not there. He moved his hand from the pup’s side and put it over his face as he wept again, at first Patch was puzzled as to why the man was crying again, he got up and sat in front of him. David blinked a few times as he looked at the dog as he put his forepaws on his lap and nuzzled him, he sighed and petted the small dog again.

Lily smiled as she watched the pair of them, Patch was a sweetheart even though he sometimes had a bit of a temper, it was lovely to see him trying to comfort David when he was in distress they had taught him well.

“Dave? Lily? What are you doing?”

Both David and Lily gasped as they turned and looked at the doorway as Stan stood there, he still appeared to be weak as he leaned against it for support.

“It’s nothing... I just got a bit emotional, nervous about my daughter’s trial... You need to stay in bed,” David replied he got up and put a hand on his shoulder as he was about to guide him back upstairs.

“Really? I can’t even walk down here now? This is supposed to be my house right? I should be able to get out of bed when I want!” Stan snapped as he brushed him off. “I’m sick alright, sick of lying in bed all day sleeping... How am I supposed to make my memory better if I can’t catch up?”

David breathed a heavy sigh as he tried to think of a good way to explain it to him, he supposed being irrational was one of the effects of the forgetfulness potion. “Stanley, I’m sorry but your head is damaged beyond repair... You won’t get better, Captain Eugene had to strike you off.”

Stan’s eyes widened in disbelief. “What? Who is this Eugene?”

David groaned as he rubbed his temple, it was hard to keep himself calm and not take it to heart. “He is the new Captain of The Royal Guard.”

“What am I supposed to do then? Stay in bed for the rest of my life!” Stan cried.

“Stan, calm down… I know you’re scared,” Lily said as she tried to comfort him but he would not let her.

“Why can’t I just come downstairs just for a little bit? What the hell is going on?” Stan snapped again.

“You’re going to die Stan!” David said a bit more harshly than he meant to. “If you go outside you could faint again… You’re not going to get better.”

Stan had frozen for a moment as the word “die” frightened him, he slumped against the wall, he held his head with one hand as he had broken down.

David sighed as he felt awful for scolding him like he did when he was in such a bad state, he moved closer to his side and knelt. “I’m sorry Stan… I shouldn’t have been that hard on you, I’ve just been out of sorts lately.”

Stan did not reply, he did not know what to say so just continued to sob.

“We will do what we can to make the most of whatever time you have left, would you like to hear what happened to the Lost Princess?” David said as he tried to put on a small smile.

Stan was still for a moment then Patch walked over to comfort his master he paws on his leg, he reached down and stroked his back for a minute then looked up at David. “We lost a Princess?”

David nodded. “Yes, Princess Rapunzel… Nineteen years ago when she was born her mother Queen Arianna had some difficulties when she was giving birth, she had gotten badly sick, there was a risk of her dying which sadly does happen to women in her position sometimes. He was once told about a magical flower that descended from the heavens, a single drop of sunlight, it was like a golden lily that glowed and had healing powers… The King ordered me to get it for him so we searched around and eventually found it, he hadn’t told us the dangers of it so we had taken the whole thing unaware of the problems that it would cause down the line.”

“What did it do?” Stan asked.

David sighed, the thing with the rocks was a long story on its own. “When the Sundrop flower was removed, magical rocks had raised in its place and over time spread out all over the land… I’ll go more into that later. Anyway, we had taken the Sundrop back to the castle, the doctor put it in some water and it healed her… Thanks to him she was able to bring Rapunzel into the world safely or so we thought at the time, we did not realise that there was another person who knew of the Sundrop… Mother Gothel, she used its powers to cheat death so when it was taken away she was willing to stoop very low to get it.”

“What did she do?” Stan asked.

“She had broken into the castle and kidnapped the Princess… I had almost caught her but she cut the bridge, that was when I had met my daughter Cassandra… She was only little then I promised I would keep her safe so much for that,” he huffed through his nose as he gazed at the floor, he had never thought of it before but if Rapunzel had not been kidnapped they would not have met, she would have her life with her heartless and cruel mother or alone if she died shortly after the flower was taken. It was funny how just one thing could change the whole course of history as if he had never adopted her she would not have become a lady in waiting and then maybe would not have gone on to do all the things she did.

“You have a daughter?” Stan asked he was like a kid being told a bedtime story as he cuddled his puppy.

“Yes, she has been through a lot… Her mother abandoned her so she could keep Rapunzel, she did not physically come from me like your child did but I still consider myself as her father as I had adopted her,” David said. “I had taken her back to the castle and raised her myself… King Frederic had let me keep her on the condition that she did not get in the way if she did she would be sent to a convent.”

“What’s a convent?” Stan asked as he tilted his head.

“A place for nuns… They are catholic, they follow God and Jesus,” David replied.

“Who?” Stan asked.

David sighed, it seemed he was still missing on some common knowledge. “God is who they believe created the world and Jesus saved it… I’m not religious but some people are… We had searched everywhere for Rapunzel again in the morning but did not see any sign of her, we carried on for years but was unsuccessful every time, every year on her birthday Fourth of July we had a lantern display in the hope that she would return.”

“Oh… Did you find Princess R-Rap-Rap-Un- El-Zel” Stan stammered as he struggled to pronounce it, which was odd as he had no problem saying it in the past.

“No that was Eugene… By accident, we were chasing him as he had stolen the Princess’ tiara, I had fallen over and Max went after him… He came across a tower, he climbed up it not aware that she was in there, she had knocked him out with a frying pan,” he chuckled as he imagined that scene. He was bewildered and shocked when he had first heard the story from Rapunzel when she first returned. “They had made a deal that if he had taken her to see the lanterns she would give him back his satchel where he held the tiara… They had come over to the mainland and joined in with the festivities which ironically was all about her as it was her eighteenth birthday, sometime later the penny dropped and she realised she was the Lost Princess! We were about to kill Eugene who back then was known as Flynn Rider but he had escaped with some help from the pub thugs which in a way it was a good thing he did as if he hadn’t we wouldn’t have ever gotten Rapunzel back, Gothel had tried to move her away once she realised her cover was blown. Flynn- Eugene had risked his life to save her’s as soon as he stepped foot in the tower Gothel stabbed him in the rib… Rapunzel healed him with the last of the Sundrop power she had inside of her as he had cut her hair and when that happens the power goes.”

Stan blinked as he looked at him in amazement like a little kid as he tried to process everything he had just said. “Wow, he sounds like a great guy! He saved R-Rap-Rap-Un-el!”

“Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either when I had first heard it, he returned to the castle with her and one of the men alerted her parents, King Frederic and Arianna, they were overjoyed but at the same time nervous… When they had seen her on the balcony they had a big group hug, Arianna pulled Eugene in to, His Highness decided to write off Eugene’s charges as a token of his gratitude and so we all lived happily ever after… At least that’s what we thought but nothing in life is simple,” David said and breathed a heavy sigh.

“What happened? Did Gothel take the Princess again?” Stan asked.

David facepalmed, he had forgotten to tell him that she had died once Rapunzel’s power was cut off. “No, no… You see she had been living off Rapunzel’s power to cheat death, she was a selfish evil cow but once it was cut off the years caught up to her and she turned to dust as she really should have died a long time before that.”

“Oh… You mean the rocks?” Stan asked.

David nodded, at least he was getting better at recollecting new information. “Yes, they had gotten much worse, that’s what led my daughter to get into trouble, Cassandra, Rapunzel, Eugene and some of their friends went off on a trip around a couple of other countries and the Dark Kingdom, sometime she came across a demon named Zhan Tiri, she had tricked her into doing her will and take the moonstone, the dark counterpart of the Sundrop.”

“Uh oh, that doesn’t sound good,” Stan said.

“It wasn’t, she had convinced her that we were all against her even me so she would attack us with her new powers but she soon learnt the truth and helped the Princess take her down, saving all of our lives!” David exclaimed then breathed a heavy sigh as he gazed at the floor. “The King has a deep hatred for her, he was about to have her arrested but Rapunzel protested against it, he said he would let her go on the condition she did not get into trouble again but one of the men had lied to the King saying she attacked him… She has been stuck in the dungeons for three weeks now! Her trial is next week, I don’t know what he is going to do to her so I’m scared I am going to lose her… Forever.”

“That’s why you’re… Sad?” Stan asked.

David nodded again, he was a lot more than sad but he knew what he meant. “Yes, I have been very stressed out lately… I’ve been feeling hopeless like there’s nowhere for me to turn, I don’t know how I can get her out of this without making it worse.”

Stan went quiet as he felt bad for getting angry at him when he was already upset. “I’m sorry… For shouting at you.”

David sighed, it was so strange to see him like this, was he a kid in his head now? He lifted his head and looked back at him. “It’s okay, I can understand why you were upset about being told that you can’t leave your house or your room on your own, you didn’t realise how bad your condition was… I suppose you can sit down here for a little while.”

He was surprised he had managed to tell him two stories albeit the short version without him drifting off he thought he would get as far as Eugene’s escape then lose him again, he never imagined he would be sitting on the floor with one of his former workers and talk to him like he had just done or spent all day nursing him which turned out to be harder than he expected. It warmed his heart to see him smile again, he had not done that for a while, he supposed he did not have much to smile about as he was asleep most of the time and had headaches.

“Thanks… Joe.”

David blinked, where had he gotten Joe from? “You’re welcome but my name is David.”

“Oh, right! I forgot what your name was… Joe is another guard,” Stan said as he bowed his head, all these different names were hard for him to keep track of some of which he couldn’t even say right.

“It’s okay, people often get names mixed up… There had been times Frederic called me Joseph, Ronald or William then he had just called me Captain, even when I had left people still called me that,” David said as he patted him on the back. “How are you feeling now?”

Stan sighed as he put his head in his hands again. “My head still hurts… I’ve been sleeping too much but I can’t stop it, I’m scared… What if I fall asleep again and- and never wake up? I-I don’t want to die now!” He cried as he had broken down again.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay… We’re here for you, I wish there was a way I could fix this for you but I can’t,” David said as he rested a hand on his shoulder. He got teary-eyed himself, it was just too much all at once, they had never been close but Stan was starting to become a very good friend and now he was about to be lost forever, this was something he would not have wished on anyone even Frederic. It was awful how it was tearing him apart, making him unable to function properly and drastically cut his life expectancy which was already short for even a mostly healthy person, he jumped in surprise as he got pulled into a bear hug and the younger man sobbed in his shoulder, he did his best to comfort him and gently patted his back.

“I-I don’t want to die! I don’t want to die!” Stan cried.

David kept quiet as he held him, he knew he did not wish for his life to end so soon but was powerless to save it, all he could really do was keep him safe in the meantime and give the comfort he needed.

Lily had broken down in tears again as she watched the pair of them, it pained her to hear him cry out like that, she was unsure at first but then knelt and joined in, little Patch did to, for a while the three of them just sat there in silence with their arms around each other, the puppy sat in the middle they were all going through terrible pain and heartache, they leaned on each other for support as they were all they had.


	28. Free And Trapped

**1:00 PM**

_Main Study Room_

As soon as Eugene returned from Saison he joined Rapunzel in the study room to settle this once and for all, this was getting ridiculous and had gone on for long enough, neither of them was going to let Frederic punish Cassandra further than she already had been. 

“I have changed my mind, community service for a few weeks is too soft of a punishment for her,” Frederic said. “Do you not know what she had done to Quirin’s son? She had kidnapped him and forced him to tell her the last spell!”

“Dad! Varian has already forgiven her for that, although I don’t expect Quirin to welcome her with open arms I know he could at least be civil!” Rapunzel snapped. “You can’t just bring charges back when they have been dropped and really that’s for Varian to decide not you!”

There was a moment of silence then Nigel had spoken up.“The Princess is correct Your Highness… Captain Fitzherbert had already alerted me of Mr Evans’ treachery with the Hate Potion.” 

“Varian and Rapunzel have dropped the charges to Cassandra, I know there is still treason, endangering the public, criminal damage, we had come to a deal ourselves,” Eugene said. “As I said last night you told Cass yourself that if she committed another offence that she would be brought to the dungeons… Now we all know she did not assault a Royal Guard there is no reason to keep her in,” Eugene said.

“She is to stay there while she carries out the cleanup, the people are already anxious with Peter on the loose and they do not like her at the best of times,” Frederic said.

Eugene groaned, this guy just did not listen. “No, I will take her back home when David is finished with looking after Stan this afternoon due to her heart condition she will not be doing anything strenuous, just light labour like painting or cleaning.”

“She does not have a heart condition if she did she would not have the strength to fight as much as she did,” Frederic said.

“Someone had attempted to murder her with a poisonous potion during her second week in the dungeons, she had almost died we were lucky we had Varian and Xavier to help!” Eugene snapped. He was extremely tired both emotionally and physically, there was no beating around the bush, he was not going to keep Cass in that cell any longer. Now George was finally out of the picture he was not going to hold back, there was no fear of the guard being taken over by someone as corrupt as him. 

“What message is that going to give the people and other members of staff? If they step out of line and turn on us they will be welcomed back with open arms and just given some chores?” Frederic asked.

“Well, the people need all the help they can get, we were fortunate that the flood was not as bad as we had feared but you never know what’s going to happen here… That’s not how it works, she comes to do the clean up while staying at home with her father! Do we have to give people some leeway, a chance to redeem themselves otherwise what would be the point of them even trying? It’s not doing her any good being locked away and unlike other prisoners, she had seen the error of her ways and came back on our side!” Eugene argued.

“He’s right, Cassandra had given me the last piece of the moonstone to give me enough power to take down Zhan Tiri, she had given me the amber to cut my hair so to kill that demon!” Rapunzel snapped. “It was not just me who saved Corona, we both did!” 

Frederic huffed, he could not understand what Rapunzel, Eugene and Arianna saw in her to be worth fighting for. 

“Frederic comes on, you are going too far! For once do the right thing and honour your side of the deal you made with Cassandra as long as she stays out of trouble from now on she will not be imprisoned!” Arianna snapped.

“Arianna, Cassandra had hurt many people... We were almost killed because she had brought that demon over!” Frederic shouted.

“That’s beside the point if we are to condemn people for things they caused indirectly you should be put in for punishment as it was you who started it!” Arianna shouted back. “You did not need to take the whole flower, just a petal would have done! Quirin had told you the dangers of the rocks beforehand and you did not listen!”

“You were stuck if I did not do that you would have died from childbirth!” Frederic shouted.

“I never would have wanted you to put our people at risk, we were lucky we had not lost Quirin when he had been encased in amber!” Arianna argued.“You know how you thought you had failed me for not preventing Varian from kidnapping and I spent hours reassuring you that you did not... I have never been more disappointed in you than I have now, are you so blinded by your hate that you are going out to hurt not only Cassandra but the rest of us to get your way?”

Frederic did not reply, he just frowned and stared at the castle on the scaled model of his kingdom.

“Frederic this has to stop now, you are just being spiteful now, I know you wanted to keep her in your clutches where you had her under control but you have gone too far!” Arianna said. “For once in your life do the right thing and honour your side of the deal you made with Cassandra, David and Eugene!”

“I only did that because Rapunzel refused to let her be taken away!” Frederic slipped out.

“I was saving my best friend which you should have done instead of messing around!” Rapunzel said. “You knew what Quirin was trying to tell you when he had come over here with Varian but you just brushed it under the carpet and lied to me!”

For once Nigel was going to tell him where he was going wrong. “Going against your word and breaking the laws of the kingdom would lead to unrest with the citizens... They are already distressed from recent events and poverty is rising again they have been loyal to you for a long time but their patience is wearing thin at the moment.”

“How is that at all relevant to the Cassandra case, Nigel?” Frederic asked.

Nigel sighed then looked at the King with a fearful expression. “A pair of guards have warned me of an uprising... They are struggling to get by as jobs have become scarce due to buildings being destroyed and people’s incomes had fallen so are left with little after paying tax, being heavy-handed is not the way to go as that is where many Kings of the past had gone wrong.”

Rapunzel nodded, she had gone to the library and read all the books she could find of her Grandfather King Johnathan and other past Kings of Corona. “It will not just be the people, it will be your own family you will be driving away to... Mom and I have had enough of being controlled and having our every move watched!”

Frederic kept quiet for a moment but judging by his stern expression he was not relenting. “Fine, the guards will be relieved of their duties just do not say I did nothing if Peter tries to kill you!”

“For goodness sake Frederic, how many times do I have to tell you? Pete does not have any intention of harming Rapunzel or Arianna!” Eugene snapped.

Frederic growled. “How can you be so sure? You have not seen him for a week!”

Eugene was about to shout back at him but paused as he suddenly thought of the Imperious Curse... If Shadow wanted to end Frederic’s bloodline he could use it to get Pete to do just that it had more power than a potion to get someone to do his bidding no matter how out of character it was.

Arianna sighed as she tried to keep herself somewhat calm. “Frederic focus! This is about Cassandra, not Peter, let go of your hate and do the right thing now!”

Frederic groaned and backed away from them, he was clearly angered to have everyone even Nigel and Arianna argue with him. He was so used to having things his way all of the time as people were too afraid of his wrath to say “no.” That was the problem they had with his father to.

“Wait a minute... You are on the Hate Potion again aren’t you?” Eugene asked. “You apologised to me when I had given you some proof of Evans’ antics, you revealed to me that it was him who lied about her last offence then all I did was tell you that Cass is not guilty and you came hard on her again!”

“I am not!” Frederic snapped.

“You are showing all the signs, irrationality, irritable, paranoid, bad temper and your pupils are bigger than they should be in this light... I know this because I have seen it with Peter!” Eugene replied.

“Well, you are not fit to work so you cannot hold court for anyone until it wears off,” Rapunzel said then turned to the advisor. “Right, Nigel?”

He sighed as he bowed his head. “Yes, Your Highness... In that case, the trial for Miss Cassandra Espinosa is cancelled.”

Arianna breathed a sigh of relief, she wished he had done that earlier, they had finally gotten it done. “Thank you, Nigel, Eugene take Cassandra back to her father... I’m sure Mrs Bader won’t mind her presence in her home while David is looking after Stanley, it would lift the world from his shoulders.”

Eugene nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I’ll come with you! I want to see her one more time before she leaves, just so she doesn’t think that I have forgotten about her!” Rapunzel exclaimed. She had been trying so hard to visit her but no matter what she tried Rob and John would not budge and nothing scared them either.

“Alright, Sunshine, you can give her the good news with me! Don’t worry, she understands you were also trapped in your room and restricted thanks to a certain someone!” Eugene replied and shot a glare at his Father-In-Law as they passed him.

“I need the room,” Frederic said as he turned his back to Arianna and Nigel.

“Yes, Your Highness... I think some time out would do you some good,” Nigel replied then followed the Captain and Princess out.

Arianna glanced at him but did not speak as she exited the room, she did not see the point but she agreed he needed to have time alone to think about the things he had done she smiled as she watched Eugene and Rapunzel rushed down to the dungeons, it had been a long time since she had seen them so happy.

* * *

**01:30 PM**

_Castle Dungeons_

“Cass! We have great news!” Eugene called out as he and Rapunzel entered the first floor of the dungeon, his face had fallen when he had looked through the bars, she was on the left bed with her back to them and curled up like she was during her first two weeks there. He sighed as he figured she had a completely sleepless night just like he did, he unlocked the door and threw it wide open, he and Rapunzel entered the cell then stood by her bedside. Eugene knelt down and carefully tapped her shoulder. “Cass, hey, it’s me, Peacock Man, I’ve got great news for you!”

Cassandra groaned as she awakened, she could not understand what he was being so chipper about when she was going through the worst time in her life, she turned herself onto her other side and looked at the pair of them with a blank expression. She had reached her limit, she was done trying to be helpful almost every time she did it was thrown back in her face, she thought she might as well have not bothered exposing George, just let the King get played by the corrupt guard, she had even gone past caring about Pete, she doubted he would thank her later either for bringing that git to justice for what he had done to him.“What? Is His Royal Pain In The Ass dead now?”

Eugene blinked a few times and bit his lip, he was not expecting her to react like that, he glanced up at Rapunzel, afraid that she would get angry with her but to his surprise, she was not in the least bit offended, he smiled back at her and pointed to the door. “No, look over there.”

Cass breathed a heavy sigh then did just as he had said, she did not get it, there was nothing there. “What are you on about? Don’t tell me another jerk has gotten you on the pot now.”

Eugene chuckled. “No, silly! The door is wide open, it is always closed while a guard is in to prevent prisoners escaping but I have left it wide open… What I’m saying is you are free!”

Cassandra’s eyes widened as she gasped. “Seriously?”

Both Eugene and Rapunzel nodded. “Yes!”

“We just had a meeting upstairs, your trial is cancelled!” Eugene said.

“We had stood up to Dad and told him that since your latest charge has been proven to be a lie, there is no reason to keep you down here and he cannot bring back the other charges since they have been dropped by myself and Varian!” Rapunzel explained.

In that instant, Cassandra leapt up from her bed and hugged the pair of them. “Thank you so much for your help! I can finally go home!”

“You’re very welcome,” Rapunzel said.

“Anytime,” Eugene said.

Cassandra had cried a lot that day and broken into tears again but this time it was joy, after a few minutes she moved away from them and ran out of her cell, she could not get out of there quick enough.

“Oh Cass, your father is not home at the moment!” Eugene called out as he followed after her.

At that moment Cass had frozen as her happiness was instantly replaced by fear as she assumed the worst. “Y-You don’t mean he has gone out there, do you? To find Pete?”

Eugene stared at her for a moment then shook his head. “Oh goodness no, he is Stan's carer remember?”

Cassandra sighed as she facepalmed, she had forgotten about that, she lowered her hand and looked back at him. “Do I have to wait until he is finished then? I’m not sure his wife will like me very much.”

“No, Cassandra, Eugene is going to take you there now… Mrs Bader is very kind, she has a lot of sympathy for you and your father, she will not mind you being there while she is away and although Stan no longer remembers you, it will be alright,” Rapunzel said. “This potion makes him sleep a lot so you will still get a chance to talk to your dad… He does not have to do a lot just make sure he does not wander off or gets hurt more than he already is.”

“Okay, Raps… Thanks for knocking some sense into your dad,” Cass replied and given her another hug. “Maybe I’ll get the chance to see you around again sometime before I leave Corona.”

Rapunzel gasped. “You’re still going to leave?”

Cass nodded. “Yeah... Corona is not the place for me, don’t worry, I won’t be going until after I’m done with the repairs.”

“I’ll miss you but if that’s what you feel is best, I wish you luck,” Rapunzel said as she looked at her first female friend with a warm smile. “I hope you have a very bright future!”

Cass smiled back. “You to Raps, I think you will make a very good Queen someday… At least you learnt what not to do with ruling a Kingdom and have one positive role model in your life.”

“Aww thank you, yeah that’s true… I’m not so scared about it now but if you ever want to visit feel free as I said before no matter what anyone says you are a hero!” Rapunzel replied.

Cass nodded. “That’s great Raps… I’m glad you think so.”

Rapunzel smiled. “I know so… There’s no way I could have done it all on my own.”

Cass nodded again, she was just lost for words, she felt like running through the floors and out of the castle grounds yelling “best day ever!” She did not have the energy to do so as she was exhausted from being sleep deprived.

“Hey, just so you know if you need any help with people or your feelings, you can talk to me,” Eugene said.

“Are you sure? Won’t you be too busy looking for Pete and fixing your team of guards?” Cassandra asked.

“No matter how busy I get I will make time for you,” Eugene said. “I was not thinking clearly last night either... It was just-“

“It’s alright... At least you’ve got one thing off your plate now, keep it up Fitzherbert,” Cassandra replied. “Those notes looked horrible, I do hope you find him soon... I had thought about what I had said on helping with the searches, I’m not sure it would even be safe for me... I don’t have any personal protection and with the way, my heart is now I don't know if I can even fight him.”

Eugene nodded. “I understand... I’m sure we will get him some time, he can’t hide forever. You will just be doing small jobs with the repairs like painting and cleaning with Varian and Meg in town.”

“Whose Meg?” Cassandra asked.

Eugene facepalmed. “She’s another old friend of mine from Varderous orphanage, she was one of the older kids there during my middle childhood days... She’s a bit like you, I think you would get along just fine.”

* * *

**02:15 PM**

_Stan's House_

David and Stan had sat together in armchairs for a few hours after Lily had left for work, it had taken a while to calm him down after he had separation anxiety and was upset that he did not have the chance to catch up with everyone else to make his memory better. He had tried to help with telling him about the day of Rapunzel’s coronation, the things she, Eugene and Cassandra had done together, he had tried to focus on the good times to cheer him up, he was currently up to the time when Eugene and Lance were tasked with mentoring Keira and Catalina who he had once called “The Silent Strikers.”

“It was not as easy as he thought, those girls ran circles around the two, they had escaped... They had eventually found them but Eugene decided to let them go, they soon came back and got into better activities... Lance has now adopted them which is great, they have someone to care for them now. They had been homeless for a long time, I suppose the orphanage is still having issues with space.” He sighed as he bowed his head as the feeling of sadness crept up on him again, it seemed odd that Stan had not questioned him as he completed that story as he had done with the others, he looked back up and realised he had fallen asleep and so did Patch as he laid on his lap. He was surprised he lasted as long as he did, usually, he could only just about manage up to an hour it felt good to finally get to talk to him even though it was nothing like it was before, he wondered if his mind had gone even further back to his childhood days as the way he looked and spoke was like he was a kid again.

What puzzled him was when he had gotten him mistaken with Joe, that was not so long ago, maybe it was all mixed up inside his head he could not tell the difference between the past and the present. He guessed it was a bit much to keep him in bed for that much time and just being in the sitting room was not as dangerous as he feared. He had already felt bad from stopping him from going outside, he knew how much he longed to walk through the streets again, see some of the people but in his current state, it was not safe. He imagined that if he had not been made this sick he would have been scared for Pete, especially when the guard was given the order to shoot him on sight the day he ran away, it was likely he would have been worried about Pete's safety and welfare as he was out in the wilderness on his own as far as he knew, just like he did when his daughter had gone off the rails. He breathed out a heavy sigh as he rested his head on his hand, he felt a bit tired himself but he had to stay awake. He was his carer for what appeared to be the rest of his life apart from Monday when Cassandra’s trial was going to be held Lily had booked the day off to stay at home with Stan although Monty had offered to care for him at his shop before he learned how severe his condition had gotten. His mother had already passed away before the final battle, understandably he had gotten very upset when Lily informed him of that again as though it was not painful enough the first time around.

He had never noticed how different Stan and Pete were to each other, Stan mostly kept things to himself while Pete tended to be a sharer, sometimes said things he was not supposed to often did not hesitate to speak his mind when something was bothering him even small things, there were times he was cold and even though everyone else knew him as the goofy guard. No one had ever imagined he had a darker side or a mean streak which was made much worse thanks to George and Shadow Man. He was playing right into their hands without even realising it another difference between the pair Stan was able to see when someone had ulterior motives, Pete did not, he would have thought someone who had been homeless for two years would have developed more street smarts but he did not. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door. He had frozen and stared for a moment, he did not recall Lily saying anything about visitors. Would Monty take the time to visit? Was it Eugene? Did he have more bad news about Cassandra? The door was knocked again, David jumped as Patch barked, he leapt down from Stan’s lap and dashed to the front door.“Alright, Patch, I’ll get it!” He sighed as he got himself up and followed the pup. “Sit.”

Patch obeyed his command and waited eagerly to see who was at the door this time.

“Good boy,” David said then taken a deep breath as he put a hand on the handle, he hoped it was not Eugene with more bad news. He pulled it open and indeed it was him and this time he had his daughter! His eyes widened and his jaw dropped to say he was surprised would be an understatement, he would not even find the words to describe how he felt. “Eugene! You had taken Cassandra out of the dungeons! H-How could you do this before she even had a trial?”

Eugene smiled back at him as he looked overjoyed. “The trial has been cancelled, David... Cass is no longer required to stay in the dungeons.”

David gasped, he could not believe it, just this morning he had another break down from the anxiety of that dreaded day and the young Captain had brought him straight back to her. “W-What? Why?”

“It turns out George was the one who had falsely accuse me of assault. The King tried to have me charged for the rest of the crimes that is said that I have done but since he had already made the deal with Eugene that he would allow me to help with the repairs as long I did not cause trouble again he could not,” Cassandra said. “Eugene was going to wait until you were done with caring for Stan but Arianna thought it would be best to just bring me straight to you.”

David was frozen for a few minutes as he tried to take in what he had just heard then given Cass a big papa bear hug. “Thank goodness for that! I was so scared about how it would go!”

“I know... I was to especially since I had not gotten the chance to prepare, Eugene was going to help but then the problem with Pete came up,” Cassandra said. “At one time I thought that the King was going to have me hanged!”

“I-I did to... I had terrible visions of it!” David cried. “Thank you, Eugene, for the support you have given my daughter through this!”

“You’re very welcome, I hope you have a nice day,” Eugene replied as he stepped back. “I wish I could stop and chat with you both but I have to get back to the-“ he was cut off as he yawned for the umpteenth time that day. “Castle to... Guard something and try to figure out where The Shadow Man has taken Pete.”

David sighed as he realised how worn out Eugene was, it was not like him to be this tired. He made his mistake of overworking himself, he guessed he had done both morning and night searches. He then blinked and shook his head as he caught on the part he said about The Shadow Man. “What? He has Peter now? How do you know that?”

“I had found more clues, they were going to use Will as a practice dummy for Pete to fight while being mind-controlled,” Eugene replied. “I will talk more on that another time... He has already taken a lot of time from you two, spend the rest of the day enjoying each other’s company. Tomorrow we are going back to my plan of community service, I’m just giving Cass the rest of today off as I can tell she has been sleepless like me and a good chance to settle down again.”

“Thank you Eugene, glad to finally be back on track to my recovery now,” Cassandra said.

“It’s okay... I’m always happy to help those who need it,” Eugene replied as he backed away and waved. “Goodbye Cass, David.”

“See you later Eugene,” Cass replied. She bit her lip as she wondered if she should tell him what he had been meaning to in the past few days. “Wear the damn armour when you go looking for Pete, you never know what state he is going to be in!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine, he’s not as strong of a fighter as I am and I am not alone I have a team of four guards with me,” Eugene replied.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, you have seen how powerful mind control can be,” Cass said.

“She’s right... I could never have imagined him doing anything like this but for your personal safety wear the armour. I would hate for you to get killed like Daniel,” David said.

Eugene nodded. “Yeah, I’ll consider it... Hopefully, we will get to stop him before he goes too far.”

David nodded. “Yes, I hope so to but just be careful Eugene... He is literally not himself anymore, he won’t always be in control of his actions. Who knows what this Shadow intends for him to do.”

Eugene sighed, although it pained him to admit it he did not know what was the goal with Varian it was to save his brother and Cass it was to become powerful in more ways than one. He did not get why he would get Pete to hurt him but understood David’s and Cass’ concern.

“I will don’t worry, I know this is not exactly ideal but I hope you and Cass enjoy the rest of the day in peace.”

David nodded as he and Cassandra watched Eugene make his way back to the castle, Cass put an arm over her dad’s shoulder, she did not care where it was, she was finally back with her dad.

“Stan might be alarmed when he first sees you but it will be alright once I explain who you are,” David said as he led her back inside. “He could have some difficulty pronouncing your name, this potion has somehow caused him to have a speech impairment to… This is Patch by the way.”

Cass knelt and held a hand out to the pup, he stood himself up and sniffed her hand and allowed her to stroke him, she seemed like a good human but he would still keep watch over her when she’s with his master. “I didn’t know Stan had a dog.”

“Yeah… There was not a lot known about his personal life before this I had rarely seen his wife around since she is out and about or working in the florist,” David replied. “How did you prove your innocence before the trial?”

Cass sighed as she brought herself back up and looked back at him. “Do you want the short story or the long?”

David smiled, he still could not believe he had his daughter back, just hours earlier he was afraid that he would never get the chance to see her again. “Well, Stan is going to be asleep for a while, I've got time to hear it all,” David replied then opened the door and lead her the sitting room.

“How is he?” Cass whispered as she looked at him, he did not look well at all, he looked pale and exhausted even though he slept more than he should.

David sighed as he sat down in the opposite armchair. “He got upset this morning because he wanted to hang out here and go outside, the doctor said he needed total bed rest after he had fainted, he feels empty as he is far back in his mind… He wants to catch up with everyone else, I’ve told him about when Arianna was given the Sundrop flower and how Eugene had brought Rapunzel back to us, I then told him about the rocks and what happened with you and Rapunzel but I’m not sure he will be able to, Eugene said he has just about two months to live… He won’t last to even see his child if he or she survives.”

Cass’ eyes widened slightly, surprised he was about to be a father, she felt terrible for him, while she was now partly free, he was still stuck in the past and there was no way out for him as far as they knew. She walked lightly across the room to avoid awakening him and seated herself on the wooden chair beside her dad, she waited a few minutes for him to sit down to.

“It’s alright, you don’t have to whisper or walk on your tiptoes, he could sleep through a thunderstorm,” David said. “Who exposed Evans?”

Cass smiled. “It was a few of us, Stan was the first to try and you know how that worked out, Will witnessed their fight, he had tried to break it up but had given up and left just before he did this to him… Like a typical villain he unveiled it to me, he had Stan’s memory wiped out to silence him, he hated me because he thinks it’s my fault his mom had died at the time of the battle and his home was destroyed by my rocks. I had talked to a couple of other guards earlier Joe and Will and they both said they had noticed Pete change when he started hanging out with George more than Stan, he had manipulated him to turn on me.”

“I can believe that it does sometimes happen,” David said. “He had turned on all of us, he even talked back to me when I was trying to help him”

Cass nodded. “I was surprised how two-faced he was at first but I guess George had slipped something like the mood potion into his drink or food during the lunch break to make him extra irritable, I don’t think he would have dared fought with Eugene otherwise, Stan said when he had come across him after work he was drunk, they had another fight but it was nothing big, unlike the first one they did not shove each other… I guess that’s when George had given him the upgrade of the Hate Potion… He used Pete as a test dummy to see how it goes before using it on the King, I think he picked him because he was already in a bad mood after the battle and is not as mature as most of the guards which made him an easy target since he did not have family or many friends he thought no one would be bothered if he suddenly died. He had tried to drive them apart but word got around that he had hurt Stan, Joe had confronted them, Dan had owned up but of course, George did not, he was going to turn himself into Eugene in the morning but he went to Old Corona woods supposedly to find Pete and was stabbed in the back some of the guards think it was Pete but I’m not so sure, the King has already arranged for him to go to a mental asylum!”

David stared at his daughter, he was just shocked by what had been going on while she was down there and how Frederic planned to handle Pete’s case. “That’s ridiculous, he was going to drag you to a trial you no longer needed to do and is not going to even bother doing it for someone who will need it!”

Cassandra sighed as she shook her head. “I know… I had urged Will to tell Eugene about what he had done as I did not know when I would get the chance to talk to him again but as soon as he left the dungeons, George had kidnapped him and was going to have Pete kill him but since he was not well The Shadow Man was going to instead.”

David sighed as he shook his head. “Poor Will, did the guys get him in time?”

Cass nodded. “Yeah, another one of Eugene’s childhood buddies saved the day, Meg, I am going to be working with her and Varian with the repairs.”

“Thank goodness for that, does Eugene know what this Shadow Man is planning to do with Pete?” David asked.

Cass sighed as she shook her head. “He’s not entirely sure, there isn’t a clear goal like there was with Andrew or Zhan Tiri, I don’t even get what he thinks he has to gain from using Pete, he has no leverage or connections to anything… At first, I thought they were going to pin all of what happened onto him but now that’s been uncovered what is the point of keeping him?”

David leaned his head on his hand as he got into deep thought, that was what he had been wondering as well. “That’s a mystery but whatever he has in mind cannot be anything good.”

* * *

**03:20 PM**

_Mel's Tower_

Mel was going to head out to gather supplies but instead spent the day nursing Pete, he was a bit better after resting for a few hours but was still weak and tired.

“You’re a fairy?” Pete asked.

“Yeah… I used to have beautiful black feathered wings but… The guards had torn them off, iron burns fairies,” Mel said, she rolled up her sleeve and revealed a large burn on her upper arm.

Pete gasped as he sat himself up and stared at the wound. “Oh my gosh… That is just… Horrible!”

“I know… They thought I was a witch, none magical people often find it hard to tell the difference,” Mel said as she pulled her sleeve back down. “That’s why I hide so far out and never go into New Corona without a disguise.”

“Disguise?”

“Yeah… I have a magic cape that can turn me into anyone I want or I could use a potion but that is difficult and I don’t often have time to do the work for that,” Mel replied. “I have always been scared of none magical people but you are different, you haven’t quivered away in fear or tried to kill me.”

Pete sighed as he bowed his head. “Funny, I have been scared of magical people for a while now, I just had to fight an ancient demon… At least try to, did not last long… You had a good chance to kill me back in Saison or let the guards take me but you didn’t and helped me when I had thrown up, you didn’t hurt me as some of the guys did.”

Mel had jumped when Pete touched her hand and looked her in her green eyes.

“I will never do anything to hurt you,” he said.

She put on a little smile and sighed, he was too cute, she had no fear of that after all she was also capable of doing much more harm to him than he was to her, she had magic and was in good health, he was not, she put a hand on one side of his head as she looked back at him. “I can’t promise you won’t get hurt but I’ll be there to help when you do.”

There was silence as the pair gazed into each other’s eyes, Pete’s heart was hammering as she smiled at him, Mel’s just went on as normal though she felt like laughing at how daft he was to fall for her so quickly like the last hopeless muggle she had been with, they were going to kiss but then the door flew open. 

“Hey, how is he?” Shadow asked as he entered the room, he sighed as he had found his answer before Mel had spoken as he had seen him lying on the sofa, awake but he still looked pale and tired.

“He has been sick, he may have eaten something bad or caught a bug,” Mel replied.

“What about the potion? You said I had a bad reaction to it,” Pete asked. “That’s twice now.”

Shadow and Mel had frozen as they stared at each other then he knelt. “No it isn’t, that ham sandwich was badly made… Looks like someone did not wash their hands, it would have been okay otherwise.”

“H-how do you know that?”

“I have been bad myself,” Shadow replied. “If it was the healing potion you would not have been able to talk to me as much as you did and your bruises would not have disappeared… Honestly, do you really think I would give you something to deliberately hurt you? Just because someone else did?”

Pete had fallen quiet as he looked away from them, he felt bad for being so quick to blame him, Dan said that was always his problem, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was right. He was paranoid. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“What was that? No one will take you seriously if you’re talking like this,” Shadow pouted and lowered the volume of his voice. “Sorry.”

“No one does anyway,” Pete muttered.

“Well, if you don’t take yourself seriously, no one can… You’re a wreck, you need to stop being so nervous and toughen up!” Shadow said as he nudged his shoulder. “Otherwise those people will walk all over you and we're not always going to be here to save your butt!”

“Okay,” Pete said then sighed, he already felt guilty for taking up so much of their time like he was burdening them, it was not the first time he was told these things either, while he was on the guard he was often told to “man up” and “grow up” because he was not as mature as most guys his age, it was only Dave and Stan who did not complain so much. When he first ran away he felt like he was free for the first time in his life, he did not even realise how he had fallen into a dangerous trap.


	29. Strengths And Weaknesses

“Here you go,” David said as he handed her a cup of tea, he could see that she was overtired, she wanted nothing more than to just go to bed and sleep, if he had of known her trial was going to be cancelled he would have sorted out her room he guessed he could do that on Monday, while she was out helping Varian.

“Thanks,” Cass said as she looked down at the small white cup, it was odd for her being in one of her former co-worker's house although it was a nice little place. She smiled as she had seen Patch poke his head in the doorway, he seemed to still be a bit nervous.

David sighed as he seated himself down and glanced at the pup. “Lily said he tends to be wary around strangers, he barked at me when he had seen me in Stan’s room, he thought I was going to hurt him, you know what they say about dogs being a man’s best friend.”

Cass nodded, she could understand that, if Owl had been around when George and Dan hurt her he would have attacked them. It was natural for their animal companions to be protective of their owners, it would take a while to gain his trust.

“The other guards, did any of them hurt you?”

Cass jumped a bit as she was snapped out of her thoughts, she turned to her dad and sighed again. “Well… Not much as George and Dan did, it did hurt when Pete started bullying me, surprisingly... He was the last one I would have expected to do that, most of the guards did nothing to me or even talk, Will was very gentle… Like Stan used to be."

“Right, yeah I was surprised when I had first heard about that… That kind of thing has never been in his nature, good old Will brought back your fighting spirit without realising it,” David said. “He never gets nasty with anyone, just gets cross they are causing trouble, he always used to keep everyone right.” He chuckled under his breath as he thought back on the days where they had worked together.

“Yeah, that was refreshing, usually they give me the cold shoulder… I never thought I would miss Stan so much when he was sent home, he was a great help when I had anxiety attacks and was sick with the potions, I couldn’t believe he was so nice even though I was nothing to him,” Cassandra said.

David sighed as he looked at him. “He is very kind, he has always been supportive of your goal to be… A guard, I guess he considered you a friend.”

Cass looked down at her cup as she thought back on the day of the science exhibition when he turned up out of the blue while she was putting up the banner.

_“Hey, Cassandra, the Captain is low on guards, this could be your big chance!”_

That was the day she had finally gotten a shot at being a guard although only part-time, she just got to cover for him when he slipped and hurt his back. Before then he was there to cheer her on and was there when she was building up her fighting skills. She chuckled as she thought back on their practice sword fights when she was a teen, he was surprisingly good at that. It was a warm day sometime in the spring, twelve years ago, they were in the training ground with a few of the other guys who stuck around to get extra practice in while Captain was out on the daily search for Rapunzel.

Her focus was entirely on him as their swords clashed.

“There, now you’re getting it!”

She laughed and hit him again, she got faster and stronger.

“Great job Cassandra! Just wait till your dad sees ya!” Stan said. “Someday you’ll get your own armour!”

“Thanks,” Cass replied as she slid her sword back in the scabbard.

“She can’t be a guard, she’s a girl!” Greg said.

Stan shrugged. “Hey, there’s a first time for everything, she can fight and knows all the castle procedures off by heart, when she’s old enough she could be a good addition to the team.”

She smiled, it felt great to have someone stick up for her for a change, she had been training with the guards since she was six years old. All the men just took a few weeks, some of them did not know castle procedures and protocol fully. She believed she would be a perfect fit for the squad! She just had to get her dad to see that, Stan was the only guard who thought so. “What made you join the guard?”

Stan paused as he stared back at her, surprised she had thought to ask that. “Well, my dad was a guard... I didn’t get to train with the men like you have, he but he still tried to teach me things,” he let out a chuckle and bowed his head. “I had a little wooden sword and pretended to fight... One day when he went to work but didn’t make it back.”

“What happened?” Cass asked.

“He was killed in a Separatist attack many years ago,” Stan replied and breathed a heavy sigh.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Cass said as she put a hand on his arm.

Stan put on a small smile as he looked back at her. “Thanks... I hope I have made him proud.”

“I’m sure you have,” Cass said as she smiled.

“Cassandra?”

Cass jumped a bit as she was snapped out of the flashback which went on longer than she expected, her dad looked at her with concern, which she guessed he would since she had just been staring at her tea for ten minutes.

“What’s wrong?” David asked. “You look scared.”

Cass shook her head. “It’s nothing Dad, I was just thinking of past times like when I was training for-“

“The guard.” David nodded. It was a shame how that dream had crashed and burned, there was no way she was going to get back on it after everything.

“Yeah... It didn’t look like it was going anywhere so I thought it didn’t matter, when I was with Zhan Tiri I got what I wanted but I lost what I had,” Cass said.

“Yeah... That’s a lesson I think a certain someone is about to learn,” David said as he glanced back at Stan and sighed. George told him he could make him stronger and he lost his way. He had no idea what The Shadow Man was going to offer him but he was going to be in for a shock with the results.

“Yeah... It’s going to hurt, a lot... Zhan Tiri said I was lost before I had even begun and said I was flawed by my own ego like my mother was,” Cass said.

David nodded. “She had you right where she wanted you so she could take the moonstone for herself... Sometimes people just have to learn from their own mistakes even when the consequences can be severe.”

“I know Dad... I’m nervous about facing the townsfolk tomorrow not sure they have calmed down yet,” Cass said.

“I’m sure it will be alright if they do start just ignore them and they will soon give up,” David said. “That’s what I’ve started to do and Varian will be there so you won’t be alone.”

“Yeah, just painting some rebuilt shops and cleaning... Nothing too hard,” Cass said. “I probably won’t see the people much.”

“You’ll do just fine, I believe in you,” David said as he smiled at her.

Cass nodded as she smiled back at him. “Thanks, Dad.”

“You’re welcome.”

There was a bit of silence as they tried to think of what to talk about next, they did not want to spend the rest of the afternoon talking about the Pete case, both had gotten tired of that. There was not much to say about her experience in the dungeons or her community service. David had not been up to much either since he had been sick during the first two weeks and then started looking after Stan.

They were snapped out of their thoughts when they heard Stan groan as he awakened. He blinked and stared at Cass with a look of bewilderment on his face as though he had never seen her before. “Who is this?”

“Cassandra, she is my daughter, I have been talking to you about earlier... Remember?” David asked.

“C-Cass-An-Andra,” Stan stammered as he attempted to say her name.

Cass sighed, she felt terrible for him, she wished there was a potion or spell that could bring back all of his memories but there did not appear to be any, she hated the way it was harming him so much that he could no longer work or even function properly. He looked so weak worse than when she had last seen him, even though he was awake he couldn’t fully open his eyes. She never imagined her dad would go into caring for one of his former workers but being a carer seemed like a fitting thing as he was compassionate and capable of being gentle and caring.“You can just call me Cass if you like.”

“Cass... Cass,” Stan said though his voice wasn’t very clear. “Dave’s daughter.”

“Yep, that’s right,” Cass said and put on a little smile.

“He often wakes up at random times then goes back to sleep again,” David said. “Are you alright Stan?”

“M-My h-head hurts,” Stan said as he rested his head on his hand.

“Okay, it’s been a while since you have last drunk something so maybe you’re dehydrated... I’ll get you some water then take you back to bed,” David said as he stood himself up and walked out.

Cass sighed as she looked at him, she had hoped he would be alright in the end but that seemed unlikely. She then seen Patch again as he walked to his master and whimpered, he was scared.“It’s okay little one, my dad is taking good care of him."

“I-I’m dying... C-Cass,” Stan said.

“What?” Cass asked she felt Patch tense up.

“S-So-Someone h-h-had h-hurt me... I-I am not g-g-going t-to get b-better,” Stan replied. “I-I’m scared, o-one d-d-day I-I w-will s-sleep and n-never w-wake up.”

Cass sighed, she did not know how to respond to that. “I’m sorry, Stan... I suppose the good news is that one of the men who had hurt you has been brought to justice, he’s going to be in the dungeons for a long time, he has hurt quite a few people.”

“G-Good,” Stan replied though he would have been happier if there was a cure for the potion.

“Yeah... I had busted him to the Captain and other guards,” Cass said. “I got out of a trial to!”

Stan did not reply, just stared off into space, he looked miserable not even Patch made him happy. “T-This is my life now... I-I can’t do a-anything for m-myself and just s-sleep a l-lot.”

Cass sighed, she could see that although she could not understand how it was doing this. She was stuck with thinking what to say, she couldn’t wish him to get better or say she hoped he would be okay because he wasn’t. “I’m so sorry Stan... I wish there was a way we could fix this for you.”

“W-Why a-are y-you sorry? Y-you d-didn’t d-do it,” Stan said.

“It’s just a thing people say... When they don’t know what else to say,” Cass said. She looked down at Patch as he sat in front of his master, she picked him up and gently placed him on his lap. “Here, you can pet your dog for comfort.”

Stan sighed as he looked down at him and away, any little bit of happiness he felt before had been drained out of him.

Cass sighed as she sat back down, she did not know what more she could do to help. She supposed she would have been the same if she was in his position, it was a big deal having your memory wiped out then pushed back over a decade ago and to make matters worse it killed you in the end.

“Here you go,” David said as he handed him a cup.

“T-Thanks... Dan,” Stan said.

David sighed as he sat back down.

“Dave... At least you were close this time.”

“Dave... Dave,” Stan muttered as he tried to remind himself that.

“He gets names mixed up to since he had picked up on other people’s names,” David whispered.

“Oh... His short term memory is damaged,” Cass said.

“Yes and long term, he’s quite far back in the past, he had completely forgotten about Rapunzel,” David said.

Cass nodded, she felt a bit bad for talking like he was not in the room or asleep. She looked across and was concerned by the way his hand shook as he held his cup. A simple everyday thing like that had become a challenge, he had just managed to take a sip then when he tried to put it on the little table he dropped it.

“Damn it!”

David breathed a heavy sigh as he got up then knelt beside him to pick up the pieces. “It’s alright... It’s not your fault your head is messed up, I’ll get you another one.”

It pained Cass to see him like this, he did not deserve to be put through so much pain and anguish. She had seen him faint before but she never has seen him break down which seemed like a silly reaction over a broken cup and spilt water but there was a big underlying reason. He had been made seriously ill and unlike with her no one was going to dare to even attempt to cure him, they were afraid of causing him more harm and pain. It did warm her heart a bit to see Patch try to comfort him, made her miss her own pet Owl she hoped she would find him soon. It had been a long time since she had last seen him.

“W-What’s wrong with me?” Stan asked.

“I... I think your brain is struggling to get the message of lifting and lowering your arm, it is going to get difficult for you to do these normally simple things,” Cass replied.

Stan put a hand over his face as he continued to sob, things had just gotten worse for him.

“Hey, it’s okay... My dad is going to help you,” Cass said as she tried to comfort him to.

“I-I want to do it m-myself, D-Dave and Lily a-already h-have to h-help me with e-everything else!” Stan cried.

Cass sighed, she understood what he meant, he never needed this much care before, he thought he was the same young man he was thirteen years ago, he was a shell of his old self, this made it so hard for her to watch.

“Okay, let’s give this another try,” David said as he entered the sitting room, his heart sunk when he had seen Stan cry. “Hey, it’s alright,” he said as he put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not going to give up on you.”

“R- Really? I’m not b-bothering you?” Stan asked.

“No, you are not a burden, you are a person in need of help... You were there for me when I was at my lowest so I’m returning the favour,” David said and picked up the cup, he guided his hand around the cup and held his arm to keep it steady. “There you go.”

Cass felt tears well up in her eyes, she felt proud of her dad for helping his former worker when he really did not have to and was going through a really hard time himself. He had no experience of being a carer but seemed to be getting the hang of it. There was more to him than being a Captain of The Royal Gaurd, he had strengths other than fighting, he was quick thinking, caring and had a kind, compassionate side. There were times he had weaknesses in common with her like communicating with her about personal problems which led to them having a terrible misunderstanding that almost ended in disaster. She was glad she was finally able to get back on track with him even though he was now busy with caring for another person and she had her punishment with clean up. She guessed everyone had their strengths and weaknesses some more of one than another but in time they can get better which she intended to do. Once she was done she was going to live her life to the full, make the most of however long she had as sadly there were people like Stan who were not going to get a chance to do that.

David stayed by his side and assisted him as he drank his water, he still understandably looked upset but still accepted his help. 

"T-Thanks... Da-Dave," Stan said. 

"You're welcome, do you think you can stand?" David asked. 

Stan sighed as he looked down at his lap nervously, he was not sure about that, Patch hopped down and sat by Cass, his ears drooped as he anxiously watched his master. He had taken a deep breath and pulled himself up, he leaned on one arm for support, he could not understand it, he managed just fine before and now he was weak at the knees, he tried to walk across the room, he was much slower than he used to be. He worried that he would not even be able to get up or walk even a short distance at some point without David or Lily holding him up. 

David watched his friend sadly as he thought the same as Cass, he was not himself at all, it saddened him to see his strength draining away from him, it was even worse than when he had the hip problem, it was all being taken away from him, he lost his coordination and it looked like he was going to lose his mobility next. He had put a hand on his back in case he trembled and guided him up. He had thought of bringing the doctor over again but what could he do? Not even the potion masters Xavier and Woodlock could do anything to help him, they said the damage had already been done and it was severe, he for the life of him could not understand what could have caused all of this. Just what on Earth was in that potion? 

Cass bent down and petted Patch as he shook and whimpered, the poor little guy was heartbroken to be losing his master who he had not even been living with for long and loved him, he did not understand what exactly was wrong with him but could sense it was something serious, he was nervous about this stranger to, it was all too much for one small pup. "Shh, shh, it's alright little one... You're safe with me," she whispered as she stroked his back, she always had a way with animals she had never been this close to a dog before but she enjoyed being with him. She guessed even emotional support animals needed comfort themselves sometimes.  Patch looked up at her then moved closer to her, she was a nice human he soon stopped whimpering and leaned into her touch.

"There you go," David said as he helped him get into bed, his legs had given way at one point on the way up, he sighed as he heard him cry. "It's okay."

"N-No, it's not... I shouldn't be like this! I'm stuck, I can't even move now!" Stan cried. 

"I know, it's awful what this potion is doing to you," David said and handed him a handkerchief, he thought he could at least wipe his tears though it did not seem he was going to stop crying not that he could blame him. 

"H-How is it doing... All of this?" Stan asked. 

"Beats me," David replied. "One time you get out of bed and you fall over, I didn't expect it to get that bad either... I'm so sorry that you are being put through this." 

He rubbed his shoulder as he wept, his life was ruined he had already lost his job and best friend, though he no longer remembered those things, he was suffering in pain and hardly able to move independently soon he was going to lose his life, he wondered if it was seeing Stan in such a bad way that brought Daniel to hand himself in, that suddenly given him a conscience again. It angered him that men who he had worked so many years with had stooped so low to bring Stan down to a point he had lost all of his strength and memories, he had no idea what they were thinking dragging his daughter's name through the mud again but he did not care either. There was no need to go to the extent that they did to cause a domino effect as one thing led to another for no good reason, they had not only hurt Cassandra and Stan but Lily's heart was breaking and their child's life was on the line. Pete was now in danger with the Shadow Man who was going to either kill him or lead him down a dark path where he would do a lot of things he would later regret. That had always been Frederic's problem to, did not see how his actions had consequences on everyone, Quirin, Varian, Cassandra and many other people had gotten hurt from those dreadful rocks and he put it on the backburner for months even though the battle with the ancient demon Zhan Tiri had passed the effects still affected those he had cared about, more than he had even expected it would. He shook his head and tried to focus on Stan. "It's okay, it's okay." 

"I-It's not! I'm going to die... I'm going to die!" Stan cried. 

David sighed, he could not think of what else to say to give him the reassurance he needed. "I know, it's not good but I will be there for you until... The end."

Again he was surprised with a bear hug, he was never one for being so affectionate but guessed he was, he thought it should really be Peter doing this but it seemed he was already preoccupied with someone else. 

"Thank you, Dave," Stan said. 

"No problem," David replied as he rubbed his back and just held him like he did earlier, it lasted for a few minutes then he had gone quiet and limp, he guessed he was drifting to sleep again so carefully lowered him back down and pulled his blanket over his chest. "There you go... Rest well, I'll pop back up in a bit to check up on ya." He got himself up, taken one last look at him and headed downstairs.

Cass had pondered what to do with the small pup then noticed a small piece of rope under the small table by Stan's seat, she pulled it out and held it in front of him. "Wanna play?" 

Patch perked up, he had drawn closer to her, took the other side with a firm grip and shook his little head as he tried to pull it away from her. 

Cass giggled as she watched him, he really got stuck in, she guessed it had been a while since he last had a good game of tug-of-war or fetch, he would need something to stimulate his mind, she knew dogs tended to get hyper or agitated when left with nothing to occupy them for too long. "You're strong for a little guy." She moved her hand a bit but since he was a puppy she had given him some lee-way, she was glad she had managed to cheer him up and smiled as she had seen his short tail wag. 

"Looks like you're having fun, you've always had a way with animals," David said as he entered the room. "I thought you would like him, he's a bundle of energy." 

"Yeah... Thought he would like a bit of play to cheer him up," Cass said as she toggled the rope. 

David chuckled as he sat back down in the same chair he was in before and watched them as they played, it lasted for a few minutes then Cass loosened her grip and let Patch pull the rope away. 

"Yay, you won!" 

Patch yapped and shook his tail, he seemed to be overjoyed of his small victory. 

"Good boy!" Cass said then reached out and petted him. "Best of three?" 

Patch yapped and grabbed the rope again. 

David smiled as he watched the pair of them, it warmed his heart to see his daughter happy again and having a bit of fun, she felt nothing but pain and misery in the last few weeks, she had been through so much she deserved to have joy in her life. He was proud of her to for admitting she was wrong and did all she could to put things right even though it meant risking her life, he thought although it may have been tempting for her to run away to the woods, she stayed and was going to work with Eugene and Varian to get herself back on track. She acknowledged her weaknesses, she was going to work hard to improve on them so she would be prepared to face the world when the time came for her to leave her hometown and go off to find her new one. 

* * *

The atmosphere in the tower had not improved as Shadow tried to talk Pete into taking another one of his potions. "I'm just trying to make you better, you need to get your strength up otherwise you're not going to stand a chance," Shadow argued. "One potion is not enough to heal all your aches and pains, you have to take them regularly otherwise you go back to crumpling in pain... I would never do anything to hurt you, I'm trying to care for you when it would have been much better for me to just abandoned you when you were at your lowest, on the floor shaking like a leaf, I had spent hours making this just for you... It's been a week, you should trust me by now!" 

"I know... I'm just scared," Pete said. "I'm scared about what it's going to do to me." 

"I know, I know it is going to be hard to face those guys who had hurt you before," Shadow said as he rubbed his shoulder. "You may be a pain in the ass at times but I'm not going to give up on you, we're friends right?" 

"Yeah," Pete said. "Can you just let me rest for today? Please, I don't think I'm ready now to take another potion... I think my body needs a rest from it for a bit." 

"Okay, okay, we can wait until later, sorry for snapping at you earlier, I have just been stressed out lately, I've just lost a dear friend of mine," Shadow said as he got up and put on a saddened expression. 

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that... I'm sorry for blaming you for my sickness, I guess your right about the sandwich, just give me some time okay? I know you mean well but I think it's better if I settle naturally you know," Pete said then turned his back to him and tried to get back to sleep. 

Shadow nodded and put his hands behind his back. "Of course, you know your body more than anyone and unlike those horrible men I won't do anything to you without your consent." 

"Thank you," Pete replied then breathed a heavy sigh as he let his guard down and switched off, he was too exhausted to talk anymore. 

Shadow smirked, he thought all muggles were the same weak and pathetic, he would not know anything while he was in the land of nod, he turned and moved closer to Mel and slipped the bottle in her hand. "Slip this into him while he sleeps." 

"Sure, maybe we could have a bit of fun later," she whispered. 

Shadow chuckled darkly then turned and exited the tower through the trapped door a few minutes later she strolled towards him and peered down, she smirked as he was one of those guys who slept with their mouth open, it was too easy, she had poured in half of the bottle, he stirred a bit as he felt it maybe he was not as heavy of a sleeper as she thought he was. 

"W-What was that?" 

"Oh, just some water, you still had a bit left," Mel said as she gently rubbed his cheek. "Sorry about Shadow, he does have a bit of a temper." 

"A bit? It looked like he was going to bite my head off," Pete said he then froze and fell over the edge but Mel caught him before he crashed on the floor. 

"Oh, easy there," Mel said as she helped him get back on. "You have been put through hell because of those guys, you don't know who you can trust anymore do you?" 

"No," Pete said as sat up, he suddenly felt numb again, he did not feel anything at all. "Even people I thought I knew well had hurt me." 

"You know what you have to do?" Mel asked as she perched herself on the edge. 

"What?" 

"Stand up to them, that's the only way you will get them to listen, defend those who have been hurt by them like me, Dragon Warrior, that is your destiny," Mel said as she held his hand, interlocked her fingers with his. "Don't worry, I will be there for you until the end." 

Pete smiled as he looked back at her, he thought she was so sweet and felt bad about the things she and other magical folk had been put through just because they were a bit different. "Thanks." 

"You're welcome," she said as she reached up and stroked his hair again. "You're not a loser or a burden, you're a person who is hurting and needs help... In time your weaknesses will become your strength." 

"Really?" 

"Yeah," Mel replied, she giggled as she had seen him blush, she literally had him wrapped around her finger, she felt his heart thumping, she was looking forward to their second night together, it seemed like it was going to be fun. 


	30. On The Path To Recovery

Although Peter was no longer on the Hate Potion he was still in a dazed state, at this point his mind was so fogged he could not see what was fake or real. His guard was still down when it should be high up with Mel so close to him.

“You poor dear, you look like you have been through the wars,” Mel whispered as she gently touched the scar over his right eye and felt his ribcage which judging by the way he grimaced was still a bit sore.

“Yeah… I got beaten up by some stupid thugs, I had bruises all over before Shadow given me some potion that was supposed to heal me… I don’t think it worked very well, once it had worn off the pain started again,” Pete said, he groaned again as he felt an ache in his almost empty stomach it was not as bad as it was before but it still bothered him.

“Don’t worry, it will pass… At least you got that bad stuff out of you,” Mel said.

“Really?” Pete asked then groaned, it felt like he had been kicked hard there.

Mel sighed as she took his hand and pushed his fringe back with the other. “Yeah… Trust me, I’m going to care for you until you are ready to go out there again.”

“Thanks… For everything, if it wasn’t for you and Raven… I would be carted away now or dead,” Pete said.

“What did you do to get into so much trouble with the guards?” Mel asked.

Pete sighed, he thought he had already told her but guessed she forgot. “I fought with some of the guys… They tried to make me take a potion… I didn’t want to.”

“Why would they poison you?”

“I don’t know… Get rid of me,” Pete said. “Someone I thought was a friend had already done that now I’m sick… What if it’s something really bad, Mel? Like it can kill me?”

Mel shook her head and moved her hand on his right cheek. “I can assure you it’s nothing serious but if it ever got that bad Shadow and I would figure out a way to fix it.”

“Why are you being so nice to me? I’m nothing to you,” Pete asked as he looked up at her. He thought it was weird she was touching him so much and talked softly, he was not sure if she was intentionally flirting or trying to comfort him. Why was she doing either? What did she possibly have to gain? He had no ties to anyone special like the Captain or the King. He was just Pete, he was nothing special just an average almost middle-aged man.

“You didn’t have to be anything to me… I don’t expect anything in return, be a very sad world if no one helped someone in need just because they had nothing to gain from it,” Mel replied.

“It already is… No one ever thinks there’s anything more to me than being a guard or cared if I got hurt just as long as they got whatever they wanted,” Peter said. “There was this one kid that almost got me fired for a stupid flower by tricking me to have cookies filled with a truth potion… I know I had quit it anyway but that’s beside the point… I was on edge, just angry at everyone and everything… I’m just sick of people messing me around, you know?”

Mel nodded and sighed. “Yeah… You have been through so much, I’m not surprised you have trust issues now, I can see why you were afraid to take Shadow’s potion, you’ve had very bad experiences with them.”

“Yeah… It’s funny, I hardly know you or Shadow yet I’ve told you more things than I have to people who were old friends… I could never talk to Dave, Eugene or Stan about it,” Pete said. “I had tried but they just didn’t get it.”

Mel shrugged. “Sometimes people find it easier to talk to those who are practically strangers unlike them we listen to you and don’t judge.”

“Yeah… You don’t argue or compare me to Cass which really annoys me, I’m nothing like her… She had grown up with a nice home, caring parent, good job, two of them and she threw it all away… I had never gotten picked when I was at the orphanage, lost my first job within the first two weeks, got kicked out on the streets, I got another job somewhere but went down the rabbit hole of alcohol and potions… Lost that then wound up on the streets again… I was on my own for years, I had to work hard for everything I had like everyone else,” Peter said.

“Yeah… You had done a lot for them, put your life on the line in battle and what has His Highness done to help you in your hour of need? Oh, he had sent his dogs after you, accused you of a crime you did not commit,” Mel said.

“Yeah… Makes me regret joining in the first place,” Peter said and breathed a heavy sigh. “That or I had just been killed off by that hurt spell or whatever it is that demon had done… Not like I have anything to live for anymore.”

“Hey, don’t think like that, there is still a chance for you to turn things around with help from a pair of special friends,” Mel said as she gripped his hand. “There is much more to you than people think, it’s sad how they have knocked you down so much you have gotten so low on yourself. They knocked your confidence down so much you would start thinking that you are nothing, you are special… In your own way,” Mel said.

“You seriously believe that? I’m thin as a twig, I’m weak, clumsy and ugly… No wonder no one wanted me, I would just embarrass them!” Peter cried. The dam had broken again as he put a hand over his face and curled up.

“Shh, shh, stop telling yourself those things… It’s lies that other people have told you over the years,” Mel whispered as she put a hand over his heart. “You need to start believing in yourself.”

“I-I can’t… Everyone gives up on me… Soon you and Shadow will get fed up and drop me to!”

Mel gently pulled his hand away and looked him in the eyes. “I won’t give up on you… I am different from all those other people, I genuinely care about you.”

Peter did not reply, he did not know what to say, just stared back at her, he was not sure if she really meant it or was just saying it to get him to stop crying.

Mel sighed as she tried to comfort him by rubbing his arm, looking after muggle was tiring, she hoped Shadow was right about him being “the diamond in the rough” or he would owe her big time. “Maybe it will be good for you to get some fresh air for a bit, we are far out from the mountain so the guards won’t get so close to you this time… I know humans don’t do well inside stone walls.”

“Yeah… Our Princess was stuck in the tower for eighteen years, can’t believe we had never thought of looking in towers!” Pete exclaimed as he facepalmed. “How do you get out of here?”

Mel chuckled as she moved back, she pulled up her grey rug and revealed a trap door. “Climb down, my hair is not anywhere near as long as her’s was,” she laughed as she flicked her waist-length raven hair. “You can climb can’t you?”

“Y-Yeah… That was part of my guard training… I had to go over a huge wooden wall,” Peter replied as he got up.

“Good,” Mel said as she pulled the door up and gestured to the hole. “Off you go, I’ll follow in after you.”

Peter was a bit puzzled, it was always ladies first but since she had already told him to go he went down, she pointed her wand at him to give him some light, he then saw why she did it that way.

“Thanks!”

“No problem, I’ll catch up in a bit alright,” Mel called down as she watched him for a bit, she left her wand balanced over the edge then got up and grabbed a small piece of parchment to let Shadow know how the new healing potion had gone.

_The cat’s pain is mostly healed, still feels tender in the stomach and ribs, very skinny, needs more nourishment. He has been dazed but still sad, I am taking him out to get a bit of fresh air, do what you can to keep the dogs away._

On cue Raven had turned up in bird form, perched on the window cill, he watched as Mel put the note in a small envelope and approached him. He held it tight in his beak then shot off to the mountainside where their friend was hiding.

Mel sighed then turned and taken herself down the ladder, it did not take long, she lost her footing somewhere and had fallen, she panicked as she thought she was going to die. 

“Good boy,” Cass said as she stroked the pup’s belly, he was just adorable with his dark round eyes and floppy ears and tiny! He melted Cass’ heart.

“He likes you,” David said, he also laughed as the pup yapped happily.

“Yeah… All it took was a bit of rope and some fuss,” Cass replied. “He was upset about Stan being sick… How was he?”

David sighed as he put a hand over his face. “He is getting worse, his legs had given way while we were walking up the stairs, he can hardly move anymore.”

“He’s lost strength in his legs?” Cass asked.

“No… It’s his head, it can’t get the signals through anymore, the damage is getting worse every day,” David said as he leaned his elbows on his knees and looked at the empty chair opposite him.

“He won’t even be able to get out of bed now?” Cass asked.

David shook his head. “Not without Lilian or myself to assist him… I don’t understand how a potion is capable of doing all this, I guess he will pass away very soon.”

There was a moment of silence between them, Cass cuddled Patch as he scooted close to her for comfort, it saddened her to hear how serious it had gotten, she had at least hoped he would live just without his memories. She could not understand how it was capable of also physically disabling someone, it was just meant to wipe out memory. Could it be that the forgetfulness potion was mixed with a paralysis serum? Some other kind of potion that made someone lose their mobility?

“Are you okay, Dad?” Cass asked as she looked up at him, although she was proud of him for paying it forward with the kindness Stan had shown him two weeks ago she could see he was struggling himself.

“Y-Yes… I am better now, my hip has stopped hurting, guess it was no big deal after all,” David replied, he faced her with a small smile that she could just tell was fake, she had done it many times herself.

“I mean on the inside Dad, how are you coping with caring for Stan? It is much harder than people think,” Cass said.

David breathed a heavy sigh. “I think I’m doing okay… I don’t know, these past few days I’ve just been feeling nothing but sadness, sometimes nothing at all.”

Cass nodded, she could understand that as this was what she had been feeling when she was stuck in the dungeons.

“Caring for Stan has been more difficult than I had anticipated, it’s just I have been lonely since I left the guard… I thought it would be good to have someone to talk to but I haven’t been able to do much of that. It’s hard when it worsens so much he can’t do simple everyday things himself and gets upset like he did this morning… Lilian has been struggling to, she has to help him clean up and… The bedsheets,” David said as he looked down at the floor.

“I see… They are sure that there is no way to cure him?” Cass asked.

David nodded. “Yeah… Unless by some miracle another Sundropdescends from the heavens.”

Cass sighed and nodded. “That’s very unlikely sadly… Sundrops only appear once in millennia right?“

“Yeah, although there might be something similar… I have heard of one other magical flower which is also very rare and just as strange,” David said.

“Really? What’s that?” Cass asked.

David put a hand over his chin and looked up as he tried to recall its name. “The Phoenix flower, it was first seen in Amestria when they had a big wildfire in the forest, unlike the Sun-Drop it grows from burnt ground… It has the same powers like healing and protecting the person who has it.”

Cass’ eyes widened, she could never imagine there would be anything like the Sun-Drop flower. “Has it ever appeared in Corona?”

David shook his head. “We’ve never had a wildfire as far as I know so no… Amestria often has them since it’s very hot over there.”

“It gets hot here to… After everything that has happened I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility if anyone deserves to be healed it’s Stan,” Cass said. “He has been there for everyone through our hardest times… I would do anything to end his suffering.”

“I know honey,” David said as he brought himself down to the floor and given her another hug. “I hate to see him like this to but I don’t think it’s going to be possible… If it does appear it might be too late, I don’t think he has much time left with us.”

Cass never imagined she would find herself crying over Stan, someone who she was not even that close to, maybe it was the fact that he had been there for her all along and she had not realized it and now he was soon going to be gone. She paused when she felt something small and soft on her leg, she looked down and seen Patch as he looked back at her with adoring eyes. She chuckled and stroked him, he was such a sweetheart, this time he was comforting her. “Thanks, Patch.”

Patch yapped and snuggled up to her, David sighed as he rubbed her shoulder, she had been in a very dark place and it was going to take a long time for her to recover.

She could not understand, she should have crashed on the cold hard ground by now, it was then she realised that Peter had caught her just in time. He was holding her bridal style, she did not even realise he was still there.

“Are you okay?”He asked as he looked down at her for a change.

“Y-Yeah… I just slipped,” Mel replied. “Weak ankles.”

“Oh… Has this happened before?” Peter asked as he carried her out.

“Well, a couple of times but I managed to save myself,” Mel said.

“Good thing I waited for you otherwise you would have died… I would not like to be the one to tell Shadow that,” Peter said. "He would probably bite my head off then." 

“It would be okay… I’m not going to be around much longer anyway,” Mel said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Peter’s grey eyes widened in shock, she seemed to be in good health, he had no idea and yet she had been trying to help him?“W-What? Why? What’s wrong with you?”

Mel did not reply until he had put her back down gently on the grass. “I am very sick… Shadow’s healing potions have been able to help keep it at bay but there’s only so much it can do.”

Peter knelt by her and brushed her hair back as he looked at her with genuine concern. “I’m sorry to hear that… What is it exactly that is making you sick?”

Mel breathed a heavy sigh. “A wicked witch had cast a curse on me a long time ago to hurt me, she was jealous of me for my looks… It gives me a lot of pain… Shadow reckons that I just have the rest of this year left.”

Peter sighed as he bowed his head then looked back at her. “There’s no other way to help you?”

Mel shrugged. “There was the Sundrop but that is long gone now… The only other thing I can think of is the Phoenix flower but the likely hood of that appearing in Corona is small, I’ve had a nice life, hopefully, you will to.” She sighed as she heard him crying again, she thought this potion was meant to make him emotionless if anything it made him more so. She put a hand on his cheek and made him face her again. “Hey, don’t worry yourself about me, focus on improving your health and your fighting skills… You have a sweetheart, something that seems to be rare in people these days.”

Peter laughed as he held her hand. “Yeah… It seems like it, I want to help you like you have helped me.”

Mel chuckled as she got herself up but kept her hand under his, she could not believe how innocent he was, as though he was a young teenager. “Aww, you’re too kind, don’t feel like you owe me anything, I just did what any decent person would have done.”

Peter sighed as though he tried to think of what to say then looked back at her. “Mel… When I’m with you I don’t feel so alone.”

Mel laughed, she thought that must be the potion talking, he was off it, he was unable to think clearly, what had Shadow put him on this time? “You have only known me for a day!”

Peter shrugged and looked in the distance. “There’s been guys I have known for months and years who had let me down... When I was younger I had tried so hard to be like everyone else.”

Mel scoffed. “You wanted to be petty and dishonest?”

“Not everyone is like that,” Peter said.

“Yes, they are,” Mel muttered as she walked away.

“You’re not like that,” Peter said as he caught up to her.

“How do you know what I’m like?” Mel asked as she turned to him.

Peter just looked at her with a warm smile. “All I know is, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met, you saved me when I had almost been caught by the guards for the second time and helped me when I was sick.”

Mel smiled, he was so sweet, she was surprised how much he was taken by her as he pulled into a hug.

“Once I’ve got the Royal Dogs off my back I’m going to try and find this Phoenix flower so I can help you recover… Pay you back for everything you have done to help me,” he said as he stroked her hair.

Mel sighed as she put her arms around his thin waist, she did not even need to go into specifics or show any proof, he believed her word. “Thank you.”

“No problem, you’ve had my back so I’m going to have yours,” Peter replied. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you again… Especially those guys.”

Mel moved her head from his shoulder and looked at him with a smile. "You're too good for this world." 

Peter laughed as he found that hard to believe, he did not know why but he felt a "fuzzy" feeling being this close to her. "Really?" 

"Yeah... You are willing to go through all that trouble for someone you barely know," Mel said and laughed. 

"I could say the same thing about you," Peter replied and chuckled under his breath as they had just been over this.

Raven had watched them from a nearby tree, he was interested how this was going to play out as they had fallen quiet and just stood there in each other's arms, he wondered if they were going to do it as they leaned in closer to each other and they did! 

"Woah! Uh," Mel mumbled as she pushed a bit of hair behind her ear. 

"Sorry... That was stupid," Peter said his voice trailed off. "Not that I mean you are- Uh... Nevermind, I'm just being stupid." 

"No, you're not... It's just best not to rush into these things... We would just hurt ourselves," Mel said. "Give it time and see how we go." 

"Yeah, that's what... I got told by a friend last time I was in a relationship said I should take things slow... I didn't listen and she had broken my heart going with a guy from work behind my back," Peter said and breathed a heavy sigh as Stan had come to mind again, it was quite annoying how he could not seem to get through a day without thinking about him. "I hated the Day of Hearts since then, I had ripped out our page from the book and torn it into pieces... Seemed like a good way to let it out." 

"I'm sorry you had been put through that... I have been there as well, it's awful when someone plays your emotions like that," Mel said as she looked into the distance. 

"It's cruel... I thought I finally had the one, you know, believed in all that true love rubbish you hear in fairytales," Peter said as rolled his eyes and sat on the grass. 

"Same... Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella... True Love's Kiss, what idiot came up with that?" Mel laughed as she shook her head. 

"Right? Like that is the answer to everything... It's that easy to get to be with someone like that," Peter said as he shook his head. "Innocent kids thinking the world is all butterflies and rainbows, boy are they going to be disappointed when they grow up." 

“Goodbye, Patch, be a good boy for your master okay,” Cass said as she held a hand out to the pup who had given her a paw.

“It’s great you have your daughter back David, amazing her trial had been cancelled, that rarely happens,” Lily said.

“Yeah… We have been very lucky,” David replied but his tone did not express any joy which worried her.

“Is something wrong?”

David sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s about Stan… His condition has worsened, he has lost some control in his arms and legs, just moving out of bed is going to be a struggle for him.”

Lily sighed as she bowed her head. “How? I thought this potion was just supposed to wipe out his memory, why is it doing that to him?”

David shrugged. “I don’t know… I fear he will not be with us much longer, he is likely to get weaker as time goes on.”

“Oh,” Lily sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, she was lost for words.

“I just thought I would give you a heads up so it doesn’t shock you so much... He is sleeping right now but might be awake in a bit,” David said.

“Okay... Thank you, David,” Lily said then turned to Cassandra and smiled at her. “It’s nice to meet you, Cassandra... You seemed to have a lot of fun with Patch.”

Cass nodded. “It’s good to meet you to Mrs... Bader, yeah he’s a funny little guy, had a good game of tug-of-war.”

Patch yapped to say: “I won! Three times!”

Lily chuckled. “Aww that’s great you had fun with him... He has been very scared about Stan bless him.”

“Yeah... Poor little guy,” Cass said as she stroked his back for a bit then got back up. “If you need anything you know where we are.”

Lily nodded. “Thank you, dear, I hope tomorrow goes well for you... I think most of the people have calmed down now.”

“That’s good, I would hate to be there with them all shouting at me again but at least I will have one friend to keep me company,” Cass replied. “Good night Mrs Bader.”

“Good night, rest well you both look exhausted,” Lily said as they walked out of her house. “Don’t worry David, you can use Monday to have a break... I’ll care for Stan.”

David nodded. “Alright, thank you, Lilian... If you have any problems though call me over and I will help.”

“You’re welcome... Good night,” Lily replied.

“Good... Night,” David said although he thought it was not exactly the right thing to say to someone in her situation but what else was there? Once she closed the door they headed back home to finally rest up so they can be prepared for the next day. 

Once they got back home they had supper, something Cass had been longing for all day, her dad made a great stew. They cheered each other up with talking about hopes for the future and thinking of positives which before was a big challenge. 

The time for sleep had finally had arrived her dad draped a soft patchwork quilt over her, brushed her hair back and lightly kissed her forehead like he did when she was an infant. 

"Good night, Cassandra got a big day ahead of us tomorrow," he whispered then had taken himself upstairs. 

"Night Dad," Cass whispered, she hoped just this once she would not have that nightmare of demon Pete killing her dad, she slept well at first but negative thoughts began to taunt her like her first day in the dungeons as a real prisoner she heard the voices of the people shouting out at her. 

'Monster!'

'Freak!'

'Witch!"

'Traitor!'

'Get out of Corona!'

'This is your destiny, Cassandra.'

'This is mine! This is my destiny!'

'Rapunzel is trying to keep it away from you."

'Destroy Rapunzel!'

'Why have you turned your back on the Princess?'

'I've tried to tell you Rapunzel, you have to be careful who you trust.'

'Cassandra!'

'I command you to surrender!'

'Villain!'

She got up and walked over to the window and groaned in frustration, she hoped she would get to just switch off now she was out of that awful cell but she was still struggling and had no idea what to do to relax enough to stay asleep tomorrow was going to be a very busy and difficult day. She had never been that bothered about stars but seeing them at this time was kind of soothing to her, she just hoped nothing would get in the way of her path to recovery this time. 


	31. New Starts

It was mostly quiet as they laid down on the grass and looked up at the stars, Peter like Cass never cared that much about stars before but found it kind of fun to try and work out shapes with them like dot-to-dot. 

“Aww look that one is like a bunny!” Mel said as she pointed at the constellation above her. “See the little bobtail?”

“Yeah... Cute,” Peter said then spotted the dragon one again. “Ah that dragon is flying away again... Shadow calls me the Dragon Warrior which is kinda weird but cool.”

“Yeah... He thinks you’re the one who can get the Fire Stone,” Mel said.

Peter had fallen silent as he turned his back to her.

“Peter, are you okay?” She asked as she moved closer to him and put an arm over him.

“I’m confused... Did I get it wrong? They were trying to help me?” Peter asked as his eyes widened. “What have I done?”

He gasped as Mel pulled him onto his back and leaned over him so her face was just above his.

“You’re getting it all mixed up... They must have gotten your so-called friend to test a new potion on you, one that affected your mood... They had succeeded in killing some prisoners, a quicker way to wipe out those who are deemed undeserving of life... Make room for more, the King felt threatened by you so got Fitzherbert to have you poisoned to silence you,” Mel said. “He had somehow found out you were destined to be the Dragon Warrior before you had even done anything he had ordered the guard to shoot you on sight... Why would he have done that otherwise?”

“E-Eugene was... Is... My friend... He wouldn’t-“ Pete stammered as he suddenly felt filled with anxiety.

“He was... His Father In Law is much more important to him than you, all he has to do is say jump and he says how high? Shadow had told you, remember? They are trying to destroy you.”

“I don’t understand... Why would they do that?” Peter asked. 

“The King just wants to have a bunch of mindless soldiers who would do whatever he wanted,” Mel said. “He needed a drug to make to make you rougher, Captain picked you as the test dummy but it backfired and made you too dangerous so they had to get rid of you.”

“T-That doesn’t make any sense... I hadn’t even done anything to-“ he did not get to finish that sentence as she knocked him out again with a non-verbal spell.

Mel sighed, she had a feeling this would happen after The Hate Potion had worn off, once the fog was removed from his mind the pieces would start to fall into place, he did have it mixed up earlier but a rethink of his thought process had it cleared up for him. She sighed as she pointed her wand to his head again, she did not want to do this but if Shadow had seen him, he probably would not have bothered altering his memory, just use the killing curse to dispose of him. “Obliviate.”

A silver mist flowed out of her cherry wood dragon heartstring wand and went into his head wiping out his memory to the day he had started his last day at work. Knocking him back to square one. He was back under her control now she and Shadow could make up any story they liked and he would believe it as he would not know any better.

“Good night, sweetheart,” Mel whispered as she stroked his cheek, that was close, they almost had him back and they couldn’t have that although that meant they would have to start all over again, she did not think it would be too hard to get him to fall for her, he was like a cat in heat, he did not even wait to get to know her before he considered dating her she chuckled under her breath, he was one of those guys so desperate for love they jumped at the first chance they got, she picked him up and carried him back to the tower.

Eventually, Cassandra did find herself drifting off peacefully at nearly midnight time so at least she got a bit of shut-eye.

“Morning honey.”

She stirred as she heard her dad’s voice.

“Morning Dad,” Cass replied, she sat herself up and stretched as she let out a yawn. She still felt a bit on edge, she found herself glancing through the window looking out for Royal Guards that could be sent her way again. She had a bad feeling that Fred was not going to let it go even though it seemed like he was more afraid of a demon Pete than her, ironically, he had always been a pussy cat who would not even be able to fight his way out of a paper bag. Guessed why George thought that was the right code name for him.

“Did you sleep alright? If I had known your trial was going to be cancelled I would have gotten you a bed, I could get you one today,” David said.

“Thanks, Dad,” Cass sighed as she put on a smile which he could tell was fake, she was clearly anxious about the day ahead.

“Don’t worry Cassandra, you will do just fine at least you will get a chance to do it this time,” David said. He felt bad for her being knocked back to square one after Frederic had wasted four weeks worth of the guards’ time if he had just let Eugene talk to George earlier the whole matter could have been solved much sooner, Stan would not have fallen seriously ill and maybe Peter would not have run away.

“Hmm, that is if another resentful guard does not try to trip me up again,” Cass said as she looked through the window, she could not help but think another bunch of them was going to burst in any minute.

“I don’t think so, they would not get away with it this time... They would not think it is worth it to not only lose their job but get arrested themselves... I still can’t believe how much it escalated... He had not only hurt you but Peter, Stanley and Lilian... Their child is also in danger of being lost and they have been trying for a long time,” David said, he sighed as he shook his head in dismay. “Fitzherbert has toughened up so they would not even get a chance to repeat Evans’ offences.”

Cass nodded, that was good to hear but she still felt she couldn’t let her guard down just yet. “What if another guard gets drugged with a potion?”

David shook his head again as he sat down. “No, that would not happen... Most of the men know better than to fall for that, Peter’s trouble is he does not have a lot of emotional maturity... I don’t know why but he has never been like what you would expect of a man his age, that is how Evans was able to coerce him to turn against Eugene and everyone else, blow things way out of proportion.”

Cass nodded, that was one thing she noticed about the duo, they were okay most of the time but unlike most of the men who were always straight-faced and focused they often got distracted and at times silly. Although she did not think she had much room to talk as it did not take long for Zhan Tiri to coerce her either and that was without the use of mood-related potions.“I’m nervous Dad... What if people start shouting out at me again? A guard starts on me like Evans did?”

“Don’t worry, you won’t be left on your own... If anyone does pick up a fight with you Varian and Eugene will put a stop to it, you can just do what I do and ignore them,” David said as he held her hand. “You will do just fine.”

Cass sighed as she nodded, she tried to reassure herself that he was right, nothing bad was going to happen another guard would not set her up, she was not going to be alone with the angry neighbours, she was not going to be put through hard labour just painting and cleaning. A part of her was looking forward to catching up with Varian, she hoped he was well-rested he looked worn out last time they had seen each other and meeting this Meg, she wondered if she was a former thief like Eugene and Lance or had a clean record but was just down on her luck. What brought her to Corona? It was not the nice place it used to be, it was in pieces and even with the ancient demon Zhan Tiri gone, it was still fraught with danger, it seemed like there was another evil being out to get them and goodness knows what wicked plan he had in mind. She was not sure who would turn out to be worse Zhan Tiri or The Shadow Man, for a while she thought George was the main villain but he was just a puppet. It was Shadow who was the master now he had gotten strings onto Pete, which beforehand would have been laughable that he had chosen him out of all of the guard but now she was worried about what he would do she had a feeling that everyone’s hard work at rebuilding the kingdom would soon be destroyed when he returns. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her dad’s voice again as he handed her a bowl of porridge.

“At least you will be able to have your breakfast in peace this time.”

Cass sighed as it was just about this time she had been arrested, she had taken one more look through the window, up and down and there was still no sign of the Royal Guards. She had finally let her guard down and tucked into her breakfast.

David frowned, it saddened him to see her so skittish that she could not settle, she was constantly looking over her shoulder even though he had not seen Frederic for some time and was not likely to for a while yet he also found himself looking out for incoming guards. He would not put it past him to use any excuse to drag her back into the dungeons again. He had not even apologised for the misunderstanding caused by a corrupt guard. Did it not concern him when problems arose in his guard? How could he condemn Peter for murder without even speaking to him? He was just acting on impulse just like his father had, not looking at all the evidence, hearing the facts and looking at other suspects just pinned the blame on the first person who came to mind. He had even pushed Eugene out of Cassandra’s case, stopping him from doing his very job of doing those three things! He should not have kept Evans anonymous if he had nothing to hide he had nothing to fear. He groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose, he liked Frederic in the past but this was one of the times he made him feel like banging his head on a wall. All of this anguish could have been prevented if he had used his common sense!

“Are you okay, Dad?”Cass asked as she looked at him with a worried look on her face.

“Yeah... It’s just the way the King has gone about this is infuriating, both with yours and Peter’s cases! Just jumps to conclusions and gets straight to the punishment,” David said and paced across the room. She guessed she got that habit from him.

“Yeah... Maybe if he had thought things through it would not have gone as far as it had,” Cass said.

“I had hoped he would have learned something from the rock fiasco but clearly not.”

Cass rolled her eyes, it seemed like he was never going to learn, if Corona had a wildfire problem he would be no help. “Yeah... I don’t know whose worse him or Trevor.”

“Honestly after hanging around them for so many years I can tell you they are just as bad as each other,” David replied. “Lilian used to work for Trevor as a maid and had a terrible time.”

Cass nodded, she could believe that being a maid was a dull job she could imagine how much of a pain the smaller king would be to work with. He was another man child with too much time on his hands to mess around pulling stupid pranks, she remembered Stan telling her how he got a fright at the sound of the invasion alarm. Pete had gone on a rant about how stupid he was to ring it out over a bit of vandalism wasting their time, like what did he expect them to do? Clean it up then find the culprits?

“Are you going to be caring for Stan today?” Cass asked.

David sipped his tea and shook his head. “Lilian is off on weekends... I had almost forgotten that myself I hope he will be okay today but if she needs any help she can always ask me, I’ll see if the furniture store is still around and get a new bed for you.”

Cass nodded. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Morning sleepyhead,” Mel said as she ruffled his hair.

“W-Where am I?”

Mel giggled he looked at her with a bewildered expression as he got up. “My tower, silly, you hit your head hard on something and passed out... I had to carry you back here, I guess since you had been moved about so many times you’re bound to get disoriented.”

“Uh...” Peter had lost his thread,everything was jumbled up in his mind and the throbbing pain in his head did not help either.

“Can’t you remember what happened?” Mel asked as she sat beside him.

Peter shook his head, the spell worked, it was a blur to him, he could barely remember anything. 

“The King is making the guards get rid of you... They think you were the one who murdered Daniel but you didn’t... King Frederic had them poison you, Fitzherbert was cruel enough to trick you into coming back to work only to have the men arrest you and execute you.”

“Who's Daniel?” Peter asked. "Who is Fitzherbert? What work did I do?" 

“He was a guy who used to bully you,” Mel replied. “Fitzherbert is Captain of The Royal Guards, you were one yourself, they had come close to catching you twice but luckily you have Shadow and I to help you.”

Peter stared at her blankly as he tried to process what he had just heard... He was accused of murder? The King had sentenced him to death without even a trial? He could not believe it at first as in most places, it was innocent until proven guilty but in Corona, it was often the other way round. “T-They did that... To me?”

“Yeah, it’s awful... You are going to have to fight them soon.”

“What? Me against that lot?” Peter’s cried in a raised voice. “Seriously?”

“Well, you can’t hide from them forever... The King without his Captain or enough guards to help will be screwed,” Mel said with a shrug. “The King has made our lives hell for decades but the time will come for the sun to set on dear Frederic’s time on the throne.”

“What? Is he sick or something?”

Mel chuckled under her breath. “Possibly or he will go the same way his old man did.”

“Old age?” Peter asked.

“You don’t know the history of your own country?” Mel asked.

“Nope... I can’t read or write properly,” Peter sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, he felt like his head was banged against a wall. 

Mel groaned, he was more clueless than she thought, she would have thought he would have at least heard of the assassination of King Johnathan. She struggled to see what Shadow had seen in him, he was not very strong or bright, she shrugged then passed him a bowl of porridge. “Here, eat up, you can’t fight on an empty stomach… You’re getting too skinny.”

“I guess I haven’t had much of a chance to eat, thanks anyway,” Peter said and put on a little smile, he had just noticed how much thinner he had become which worried him a bit. “Aren’t you going to have something?”

“I’ll have something later, while you are out with Shadow… Don’t worry I’ll be fine,” Mel said, she got up and distracted herself with looking through the window while he ate.

Shortly she was greeted by a small black bird, he held a small box by the string. “Oh, morning Raven.”

“You talk to birds? You actually think they can understand you?” Peter asked.

Mel groaned, seemed to have lost a few brain cells from the obliviate charm, she took the box and picked up a pair of small glass bottles one had a bright orange liquid and the other was a dark red. “Time for your medication again.”

Peter stared at it nervously, he did not remember needing medicine before and the skull-shaped cap did nothing to reassure him.

“You have been sick with food poisoning... Our good friend Shadow had made this for you, don’t be afraid, he just has a thing about skulls,” Mel said as she approached him.

“I don’t feel sick,” Peter said, he really did not like the look of that potion.

“Good, that means it’s working, one you have to take it every morning otherwise you will crumple and probably die, the other at night as that helps you sleep, trust me, I wouldn’t give you anything unsafe,” Mel said as she sat down by him. She pulled off the skull cap from the red one and handed it over to him.

Peter gulped as he looked down at it, he had made the mistake of taking bad potions in his younger days.

“It’s alright... Don’t be afraid,” Mel whispered as she put an arm over his shoulder.

“Okay... Here goes,” Peter muttered and chugged the whole potion, it was just like water which was not what he expected it to taste like, he accidentally dropped the bottle, he bowed his head as his headache suddenly stopped and mood switched from fear to rage. His grey eyes hardened to as he looked at her with a cold-hearted glare then got up.

Mel smirked, she liked the darker version of him, she left the bottle on the floor and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “You ready for your first day?” She whispered in his ear.

“Yeah, where is that git Shadow?” Peter said there was a hint of a growl in his voice, he called him a pain in the butt and he called him a git.

“He’s just outside... He’s going to teach you to fight better,” Mel replied, she moved away from him and picked up a sword which was still in its scabbard. “You’re going to need this.”

“Thanks,” Peter replied as he attached it to his waist then headed down.

Mel breathed a heavy sigh as she turned and leaned against the window cill, a handful did not even begin to describe him, he was hard to work but she hoped it would pay off in the end.

Cass had her breakfast with her father in peace which was a huge relief but she still could not bring herself to lower her guard she felt butterflies in her stomach as she touched the handle to the front door, this was it, the first day of her community service. She tried to stop herself from imagining the reactions of Monty, Felspar and other locals... Varian would be there and Eugene, she would not be alone.

“You’ve got this Cassandra, you are going to do great!” David said as he put a hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her.

“Yeah... It will be just fine, I’ll make people happy... For a change,” Cass said then taken another deep breath and exited the house. “See you later Dad!”

“Yeah... You will have a brand new room to go to when you get back!” David said as he waved back at her.

Cass sighed as she walked up the street, the closer she got to the high street the tighter the knot in her stomach had become. The voices in her head rang out just like they did last night, she tried hard to push it out but much to her frustration she could not stop it. She paused when she spotted something new on the wall, she sighed as she realised the King had Rapunzel’s missing posters of Pete replaced with Wanted. He had the artist paint a worse picture of him, he looked like a creep, the caption had read Peter Hayes Murderer, do not approach!

“Ah for goodness sake,” Cass muttered as she shook her head, she knew there was no way Eugene would have approved that... Freddy boy was going behind his back again!

She breathed another heavy sigh as she moved further up when she eventually arrived she expected to be yelled and screamed at again but surprisingly no one seemed to have even noticed her. She walked towards Xavier’s where Eugene had told her to meet up as he was going to be giving her the tools for the job of painting a refurbished shop. As she passed through she had overheard “Uncle” Monty and Felspar chatting.

“Oh, it’s awful, just awful... I can’t believe he would do such a thing... He seemed like such a nice guy when I had met him on the day we did the treasure hunt,” Felspar said. Even without mentioning names, she knew exactly who he was on about.

“I know... I was shocked when I had seen the new posters to, there was no need for that... He has turned out to be a nasty piece of work, Stan had taken him into his home when he had lost his and now he is seriously sick he has abandoned him!” Monty exclaimed. “I hear he has been hanging around with some shady people out there and he’s been on the pot... Whatever that means, I can’t keep up with these youngsters.”

“Are they brothers? They looked very close, he was very upset when Rapunzel had split them up,” Felspar asked.

“No, not by blood anyway... Although Stan has always thought of him as a little brother, I had warned him he would be trouble but he just went ah Uncle Monty, he’s okay once you get to know him, just give him a chance! He was too kind, “ Monty said.

Felspar looked sad at first then gasped, at first Cass thought it was from the shock of seeing her face in public again but nope.

“Oh, I’ve just had an idea for my next play, a pair of brothers, one had fallen into the temptation of darkness, he is so caught up with trying to find his own destiny he neglects his loving older brother! It will be perfect for Guardians Day!”

Monty rolled his eyes and shook his head as he painted the wall of the shoe shop.

“Uh-huh... Good luck, you will need it after last time.”

Cass groaned the one about her and Raps was bad enough to think of one about Stan and Pete already sounded like a disaster just waiting to happen, she shook her head and moved away from them, she had a strange sense of deja vu. 

“Ah, there’s the Dragon Lady!” Eugene called out.

Cass froze as everyone nearby stared at her, she looked at the ground, closed her eyes for a second and taken deep breath.

“Hi... Captain... What is my job for today?”

“Today you will be painting this grocery store with Varian and Megan,” Eugene replied as he handed her a brush.

“Cassie! It’s great to have you back!” Varian cried and held his hand up for a high five with she went along with. Beside him was a woman who looked quite a bit older than her and like her had a preference for tunics, leggings and boots rather than dresses and heels.

“Hi, I’m Megan... Although people often call me Meg or Nutmeg like the herb.”

Cass smiled, it was nice to see a fresh face she held her hand out to her for a shake. “Cassandra, though most people just call me Cass.”

“Okay, good to meet you, Cass, you have my condolences for putting up with this trouble maker,” Meg joked as she gestured to Eugene.

“Yeah... There were times he made me feel like banging my head against a wall,” Cass said. “Wait aren’t you supposed to be supervising the search for Pete?”

“Ah it’s alright, they know the drill… Joe is covering for me and I’m not feeling so optimistic about it as you said it won’t be easy to get him away from The Shadow Man, he needs to learn for himself,” Eugene replied then picked up a large paintbrush. “Anyway… Shall we get started?”

Cass nodded as she took the brush and dripped it into the can then got started colouring the plain white wall a lime green like the shop owner requested. “I was surprised how no one seemed bothered about me being here… Not even Monty or Felspar.”

“Yeah, you seem to be old news now… Not that they have forgotten but are now distracted with something else,” Meg said. “At least you were saved from any more agro.”

“People don’t talk about you as much as they used to… Which I guess is a good thing but still best to lay low for a while,” Varian said. “Speaking from personal experience, it will take a while to gain their trust again.”

Cass nodded, she knew that much though she was not planning to stick around forever so it was not like she wanted to make friends with them, just be at ease? Some peace? She shrugged, she was not sure although it saddened her to think how quickly they had turned on him, they always did one thing that made her infuriated with the King. That was a person’s reputation in tatters, when he did come back he was going to get the same treatment she had with the insults and rotten fruit thrown at her, it was going to make Eugene and the guards task a whole lot more difficult.

“How have you been doing Cass? I hope it wasn’t too… Difficult at Stan’s,” Eugene asked.

“It was alright… I talked to him for a bit, he had forgotten who I am… Again but on the bright side I had some fun playing tug-of-war with his dog Patch.”

“What were you doing at Stan’s?” Varian asked. “I’m confused about how he comes into this.”

Cass sighed as she dipped her brush into the tin. “My dad is his carer… He was attacked at work by his former co-workers, they wiped out his memory, although Woodlock was able to recover a few years worth he thinks it’s too dangerous to experiment further, I also have a suspicion that it was mixed with a paralysis serum as his limbs themselves are fine but he has been experiencing difficulty in moving, at first he was just slow but now he can’t even hold a cup or walk up the stairs, he needs help to just get out of bed.”

Varian’s eyes widened as he had never known of a potion that was capable of that much damage and completely wipes out a person’s memory, almost like when he had once tried to make a forgetfulness gas but the thing about the loss of his mobility made him feel bad for him, they had never been good friends, he was also the guard who kicked him out when he came begging for help but he guessed to be sort of fair he had to obey commands like a good doggy. “That’s awful… I wouldn’t even know where to start, even Professor Woodlock is stuck! Good your dad is looking after his friend,” he said after being silent for a while, he rammed his brain to think of possible solutions but came to a dead end. “Just make sure he doesn’t burn himself out, that has always been my dad’s trouble and he gets irritable… Dads am I right?” He chuckled as he remembered the first time he had said that to her when he was her “Co-Lady-In-Waiting,” what a day that was.

“Varian,” Cass said, ignoring his inside joke while she tried to focus on keeping her brushstrokes straight. “Have you heard of the Phoenix flower?”

Varian paused and stared at her with a puzzled look on his face. “What?”

“My dad told me a bit about it when I was trying to figure out a way to help Stan, at least make him a bit better so he can go outside and hang about with people without dozing off or falling over,” Cass replied. “He said it was first sighted in Amestria, that it is similar to the Sun-Drop but instead of coming from a single drop of sunlight it comes from the burnt ground right after a wildfire.”

Varian still could not believe it, his experience with the Sun-Drop and Moonstone had blown his mind with the capabilities of magic but this was just something else. “How could that be possible? A plant can’t grow in that kind of environment… It was hard enough for the crops with those… Things everywhere, no way it can survive a fire that big!”

Cass shrugged. “I would have said the same thing about the Sun-Drop if I hadn’t known Raps… I mean the sun creating a flower come on, that’s like something out of a fairytale.”

“Yeah… You have a point there, maybe there is something about it in the library would you be able to come with me to look it up?” Varian asked.

Cass bit her lip, she was not sure about that, she glanced at Eugene and he nodded.

“I don’t see a problem with that… I will also be interested in hearing about this Phoenix flower, the first time I heard one being named after an imaginary bird.”

Cass sighed as she looked away, she was thankful to him for allowing her to do that but she just had a terrible thought, there could not be light without darkness, clearly, the Phoenix Flower like the Sun-Drop had the purpose to heal and protect that meant it had a counterpart which was to cause harm and destroy anything in its path, perhaps that was in stone form to. At that moment something clicked now she believed she had just found the answer to the mystery of The Shadow Man’s goal.

“Cass? Are you alright?” Meg asked as she looked at her possible new friend, she had a look of alarm on her face, she thought she was either going to scream or faint as she did not reply and dropped her brush.

“Cass?” Varian asked as he put his brush down and turned to her.

“Cassandra? What’s wrong?” Eugene asked as he put a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

“I just realised something,” Cassandra said, she had closed her eyes and taken a deep breath. “The Phoenix Flower will have a darker counterpart… I’m not sure if it will bring the rocks back or something worse… I think I have just figured out The Shadow Man’s motive.”

“Shadow Man? Who is that? One of Zhan Tiri’s old followers?” Varian asked.

Cass shook her head. “No… I think he was completely independent of her, I had never seen him before, he would also know of its existence and like her would want ultimate power… Think about it, Peter has no leverage, what else could he possibly have to gain from taking him under his wing?”

There was a moment of silence as Varian tried to make sense of it and Eugene facepalmed, he could not believe they were about to be dragged through this kind of thing all over again, Meg looked back at her with a saddened expression but unlike the others, she knew she was right.

“Yeah… He has been trying for years to find the diamond in the rough even me but when it did not work out he tried to kill me so Peter and everyone in Corona is in grave danger,” Meg said.

While people were busy at work Peter was fighting furiously, he had gotten a couple of accidental cuts from Shadow but still carried on but soon improved with his movement, the Hate Potion had gotten him all pumped up so unlike last time he had enough energy to go through it, he often found himself thinking about that guy in the red jacket with the gold sun emblem though he could not remember who he was, there was something about him that bugged him a lot. He pushed it to the back of his mind that was not important at that moment, though it did nothing to stop the rage that burned inside him like a raging fire, an outsider would have thought this was a serious fight as he lunged at him even Shadow was surprised as not once did he have to tell him to focus. He figured it was easier for him to concentrate this time since he did not have a headache, had a better night’s sleep and recovered from his sickness, he seemed to have gotten the Hate Potion perfect this time, he had taken Mel’s suggestion and decided to use another way to bring on the mind control as he would first need to have the strength to pull it off. He was shocked when he had caught him off guard and kicked him in the stomach knocking him a couple of metres back, he chuckled as he looked at him, his first day back in training and he had metaphorically kicked his butt. “Great job, turning my old trick against me… Much better than last time, take five and we’ll start again.”

Peter did not reply right away as panted heavily, he needed a break although he knew in real life he would not get one, he would have to be prepared to push himself against the men who he would have to fight against someday, he picked up his flask and chugged but at least this time it was actual water. His memories were messed up but he no longer cared about his past life, he had no family to worry about, he no longer saw Corona as his home, just another Kingdom that will soon fall for good, at this point it seemed like he had nothing left to lose. 

“Hey, handsome.”

He turned around and seen Mel as she strolled towards him, he laughed he had never been called that by a woman before or anyone for that matter… He was always plain and dull. “Hey, Mel… You okay?”

“Would you like to go out with me tonight?” Mel asked as she moved closer to him.

Pete froze as he stared at her, she was asking him out, him! Out of all the guys she had chosen him, not Shadow or Raven, from what he could remember last night was fun. “Yeah… Sure.”

“No funny stuff mind,” Shadow warned. 

“Great,” she replied and smiled but it faded with she had seen the cut on his arm. “Oh, haven’t you noticed your arm is bleeding?”

Peter shrugged. “It was an accident, it’s just a scratch no big deal.”

“What are you like eh? Sit down I’ll clean it up,” Mel said, she took his flask and poured a bit of it on a handkerchief then dabbed it over the cut which was more than a little scratch, it surprised her how he did not even flinch with the sting but then again maybe that was one of the effects of the potion. “Shadow would you be careful! He can’t fight if you cut his arm off!”

“Ah calm down, he’s fine!” Shadow shouted out.

Mel rolled her eyes as she wrapped a bandage around his arm, it looked this was going to be a regular thing, she knew Shadow was being rough as that was how the guards will be when he faces them again.

“Thanks, Mel,” Pete said as he looked at her with a little smile, he was surprised when she kissed his cheek.

“No problem, just be careful okay? I would rather you came back to the tower in one piece.”

Pete laughed as he looked at her handiwork on his injured arm. “Yeah, I got distracted then… I stopped myself from worrying about them now… I don’t remember much of my life there but it doesn’t matter now.”

“You’re doing very well,” Mel said as she held his hand and interlocked her fingers with his. “You're facing the people who have hurt you rather than keeping on trying to run and hide… You’re very brave.”

“You really believe that?” Pete asked.

Mel smiled as she leaned in close to him, their foreheads touched. “I always have.”

Shadow smirked as he watched them, Mel was a very good actress as it looked like she was also smitten if he did not know her as well as he did he would have thought she had actually fallen for him, he had also done it himself not so long ago. He narrowed his eyes as he looked over the horizon, this just reminded him of that certain someone he would have to get rid of as she had already gotten in his way before and likely would again, he grinned wickedly as he came up with an idea to make her mysteriously disappear now he had his new wand and Peter under his complete control. 


	32. The Phoenix Flower And Its Dark Counterpart

As soon as the jobs of the day were done Varian and Cassandra headed to the library which was still a work in progress but was safe enough for the public to enter, they flipped through any book they had seen on magic, which oddly enough was placed right next to the science section, Varian’s favourite part, unsurprisingly there was a lot about the Sun Drop but there did not seem to be anything about the Phoenix flower.

“You would have thought there would be at least one about other magical flowers and stones,” Varian said as he skimmed through the self, he had already read everything about his idol Demanitus and knew he was not connected to the Phoenix Flower. “Amestria isn’t that far away either, it’s next to Saporia... Maybe Xavier will know a few stories about it.”

Cass sighed as she glanced through the window, they did not have a lot of time, her dad would be expecting her home in time for dinner and she was sure Quirin would want Varian back before it got dark especially after his encounter with demon Pete. She rummaged through the opposite shelf, she pulled out a thick book about magical Saporian artefacts and spotted a small book right behind it. She reached over and pulled it out, it reminded her of the Lost Lagoon book as it had a green leather cover and golden edging on the pages, the title was also printed in thick black ink with gold flecks: “Magical Flowers And Where To Find Them.” She turned around and showed it to Varian.

“I think I just found the thing we are looking for!”

Varian’s face perked up as he moved over to her. “Awesome! Though I somehow expected it to be bigger than that... Guess there aren’t many around.”

“Maybe it was designed to be small and lightweight so a traveller can carry it in their bag,” Cass said.

Varian perked up even though he was not ordinarily interested in things to do with magic being a man of science, he was intrigued into this flower that was powerful enough to survive a fire though when he thought of it there was not much different to how the Sun-Drop came from the sun which is just like a big ball of burning gas. He sat himself down by Cass and watched as she flipped through the first few pages, there, of course, was the Sun-Drop, Enchanted Roses, more mysterious lilies and tulips than they finally found it.

“Wow,” Cass and Varian gasped at the same time as they looked at the intricate illustration, it looked very similar to the Sun-Drop, it was a lily-like flower with six petals, crimson red and yellow with gold specks sprinkled on, long filaments, most stood up and one curled up a bit there was another illustration on the opposite page where it appeared to emerge from the flames.

“This is incredible,” Varian whispered as he marvelled at it.

“It really is, look, just like the Sun-Drop it has powerful healing powers, it can protect the person that consumes it to,” Cass said.

“Okay so if Stan consumes the Phoenix flower will his moustache turn blonde or get ridiculously long like Rapunzel?” Varian joked.

Cass shrugged. “Maybe it will change his hair colour.”

“Does it tell you the incantation?” Varian asked.

“Um…” Cass flipped the page and found it. “Ah here it is,” she cleared her throat and read it out loud. “Flower unleash heaven’s light, share your power with me, turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed, stop the plans of fate, rescue what is lost… Share your power with me,with me.”

“That’s interesting, sounds very much like the healing incantation from the Sun-Drop,” Varian said. “How could we use it safely? We don’t want a repeat of the black rock chaos… Like my dad said by removing the darkness we would encourage the darkness to grow.”

“Maybe if we just took a petal it would be alright… Problem is how am I going to get it? Dad said there has never been a wildfire in Corona and I can’t very well go over to Amestria to look for it since you know… Doing community service,” Cass replied.

“Actually, there was a big fire in Old Corona a long time ago… Possibly before your dad’s time, people think wildfires just appear out of the blue but most of the time it’s caused by a human error like not putting a campfire out properly,” Varian said. “One of the reasons Dad doesn’t like me going into the woods, he has been watching me like a hawk lately, though he was supportive when I lost Ruddiger… I still have nightmares about demon Pete killing me!”

“Yeah, that makes sense… Corona was drying up before we started having the storms and downpours but I imagine a fire in the woods would be very hard to control,” Cass said.

“They’re a nightmare, it spreads everywhere so quickly and destroys everything in its path… Makes me wonder what the Phoenix Flower’s darker counterpart is,” Varian said.

Cass shrugged, she turned the page and seen a crimson red stone, her heart sunk as it reminded her so much of the moonstone. “Oh.”

Varian gulped, they had just been talking about the wildfires and there was a thing that was simply named after the element, that did not sound good, it was scary. “The Fire Stone.”

“Says here that it gives a person the ability to control flames and even burst into fire themselves… This sounds even worse than the Moon Stone,” Cass said. “If he does attack the guards with this there is going to be a lot of men burnt.”

Varian nodded. “I wouldn’t like to think Pete would attack us but after what happened when I had seen him and now that the Shadow Man has him I’m afraid he will… If he does get the Fire Stone I guess I could make a big water gun to put out the flames and hopefully stop anyone from getting burnt, although the men’s body will mostly be protected by their armour their faces, arms and legs won’t.”

“Yeah… It was bad enough when I trapped them in rock cages and bashed them but they didn’t get any serious injuries… This is going to hurt them a lot more,” Cassandra said and breathed a heavy sigh.

“Yeah… I’ll have to sort something out with Eugene, just in case,” Varian said, he felt a bit awkward as not so long ago they had paired up to prepare for a fight against her.

“Project Obsidian huh?” Cass said as she glanced at him.

Varian sighed as he thought back on what a disaster that was. “I’m not sure… I mean look what happened when Zhan Tiri told you about that, if Pete heard we were doing something like that to him from The Shadow Man, he would more likely attack us.”

“Well, he’s not going to come quietly anyway now Frederic has put out Wanted posters for him everywhere, everyone thinks he is a murderer,” Cass said.

“Yeah… It’s horrible what has been happening lately,” Varian said, there was a silence between them for a while as they read on. “It could be a while until it appears… How was Stan when you had last seen him?”

“He was very miserable, understandably, not even his dog made him happy, when I talked with him he just stared into space, Dad told me he was upset because he wants to go outside and meet people to try and catch up as in his mind he is thirteen years behind. The doctor told his wife and my dad that he needed total bed rest because he could fall unconscious at any time… Yesterday he had taken a bad turn and lost control of his limbs, it does not look like it is going to get better,” Cass said. 

Varian breathed a heavy sigh as he felt sorry for the man even though he barely knew him, he leaned his head on his hand and looked into space as he pondered on possible ways to help him in the meantime. “Maybe there is a way he could get outside and socialise safely… I could get a chair and stick a pair of wheels on it so even if he does pass out, he won’t get hurt.”

Cass nodded. “Yeah, that could work and be very sweet of you to go to the trouble of building something like that for him, although I think he will still be low about not being able to do everything himself.”

“Yeah, that is a really tough thing to go through, hopefully, in time, he will… Find some joy again,” Varian said.

Cass sighed as she rested her head on her hand. “Trouble is, he does not have a lot of time… To Live, this potion has drastically cut his life expectancy.” 

After two more hours of fighting Peter was worn out, he dropped his sword and laid down on the ground, he panted heavily, he put a hand over his forehead as he felt like he had another headache coming on, his memory had gotten worse as the spell gradually removed almost a decade’s worth of memories from his brain like Stan he had become years behind, in his mind, he was back to his early twenties, now all he knew was being kicked out onto the streets after being fired from his previous job then he somehow had gotten onto the guard and now was a Wanted Criminal. He tried to brush it off but he could not seem to keep himself from thinking about it. He put a hand over his eyes to block out the sun, he wished it was not so bright that day.

“You fought well, Dragon Warrior, soon it will be time to achieve your destiny,” Shadow said as he passed him.

“Uh-huh.”

“Most people would be enthusiastic about that,” Shadow said as he raised an eyebrow at him. “Very few people have a destiny.”

“I’m tired.”

Shadow sighed as he shook his head. “Looks like we still have a long way to go to build your stamina, those guys will not go easy on you, Freddy Boy wants you to be destroyed… You will have to hold up longer than this.”

“I know,” Pete muttered as he ran a hand through his hair, he was able to hold his own against him but not for very long.

“Well to be fair you have just been sick but in time you will improve, when you start a fight clear your mind and focus on your opponent otherwise it will be very difficult for you to concentrate which is why you got yourself cut,” Shadow said then left him alone.

Mel knelt beside him and stroked his hair which seemed to be an odd habit of her’s, Peter smiled as he looked at her, he had found himself crushing on her within two days, it was funny how while he was currently supposed to feel nothing but hate and rage when he was with her he felt happiness and love. “Hey, Melody.”

“Do you still feel bad? You shouldn’t be feeling any pain now,” Mel said as she touched his cheek, she blinked when she had seen him put a hand on over her’s.

“Don’t worry, it’s no big deal… Just a little headache, I’ll be alright in a bit,” Peter said, he thought she was cute the way she worried about him so much.

“Every time you see me you end up in pain,” Mel said and chuckled under her breath.

“I’ve been through worse than this… Can’t think of any times right now but you have been a great help, letting me use your tower for shelter, helping me with whatever I’m sick with, supporting me with-“ His voice trailed off as the pain in his headache intensified. “Ah!”

“Maybe you should go back to the tower, lie down for a bit… I have something good for healing headaches,” Mel whispered as she moved her hand to his shoulder.

“Y-Yeah… Thanks.”

“No problem,” Mel replied and backed away, when he got up she put an arm around his shoulders to make him feel comforted as they walked back to the tower, she knew headaches were a side effect of the obliviate spell it would soon stop but he would never regain his lost memories, she was also surprised how calm he was despite being dosed on The Hate Potion again.

“Hi Dad,” Cass said as she walked in, she felt more relaxed than she did that morning, she had gotten through a whole day without any trouble, she could only hope it would stay that way.

“Cassandra!” David exclaimed from upstairs then rushed down and given her a big hug. “How did it go?”

“It was alright actually, no one was bothered with me being there, not even Monty or Felspar… They have got someone else on their mind now, have you seen the new Wanted posters?” Cass asked. She entered the sitting room and sat in an armchair.

David sighed as he nodded. “Yeah, they are awful… Just when I thought it could not get worse, he’s made it much easier for that gangster to manipulate him, it looks like everyone hates him now, when he becomes aware of that he is going to attack!”

Cass nodded. “Yeah… That’s what I think is going to happen to, Felspar is going to try and write a whole play about him and Stan because Monty told him that Pete abandoned him, people keep saying that but fail to realise that since he had been away in Old Corona woods for a week he has no way of knowing what’s been happening here, they are going to tear him down just like they had done to me!”

David groaned as he thought of the daft cobbler. “The Princess should put a stop to that, tell him he can’t write about people he does not know like this, I bet he has not even considered Lilian’s feelings on the matter, it would not be fair on either Stanley or Peter, I dread to think of what the poster would be like after seeing the one for The Triumph of Rapunzel, you did not have horns on your head!”

“That was to demonise me… It flopped as he had gotten Vlad to play me and he walked out within the first few minutes, they did not even understand the point of it either… That guy should just stick to making shoes,” Cass said. “Poor Stan is already upset enough as it is, without them making fun of him behind his back, he does not even remember Pete now does he?”

David shook his head and sighed. “No, he does not sadly, Eugene said he was crying out for him when Woodlock first tried the memory charm but when he did it again his mind went further back and he had forgotten him… Again, it’s unfortunate how the one person who could possibly snap him out of this is unable to help him.”

Cass shook her head. “Not necessarily, I mean when I was going through the Moon Stone phase, not even you could snap me out of it, I fought you off and trapped you in a tomb… Pete also has this mind control thing going on so there are times he does not even know who he has let alone anyone else, it would be great for them to have a heart to heart talk but I really don’t think it’s going to be that simple.”

David was quiet for a moment then nodded. “Good point… I just hope this matter could be resolved before Stan… Passes away, if not Peter will be heartbroken to have missed his chance to say his goodbyes to his friend and guilty for indirectly causing it.”

Cass nodded and bit her lip as she thought back on the time she had died at the end of the battle and Rapunzel resurrected her, it saddened her to think of the same happening to them. “I’m hoping to get this Phoenix flower to heal Stan, I went to the library with Varian and eventually found this book about magical flowers.” She lifted her bag, pulled the book out, turned to the page where the Phoenix flower was and showed it to him.

“That’s great Honey, perhaps there is a chance for another miracle to come to Corona,” David said.

Cass sighed as she then remembered the downside as she turned over a couple of pages. “We had also learnt what its darker counterpart is… I think the Shadow Man is planning to make Pete get for him.”

“What’s that? Star Stone?” David asked.

Cass shook her head and held the book up again. “The Fire Stone.”

David raised a brow as he peered at the blood-red stone in the book. “What?”

Meanwhile, Peter and Melody were having their first date in The Poisoned Apple, Peter was in a lighter mood than he was last time he was there, he still had his plain black tunic and pants, he did not have any other option, Mel wore a long sleek black dress that showed off her cleavage, they had quite a lot to drink, more than they usually would.

“You sure that’s not the potion talking?” Mel asked with a giggle which made it seem as though she was joking.

Peter just laughed. “What potion?”

“It’s just the way you are so smitten when you had only known me for a couple of days is strange,” Mel said. “Usually it takes quite a bit of time for that to happen.”

Pete sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck and blushed as he felt a bit sheepish. “Yeah… Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to be that… Uh... Forward, if you don’t like me that way it’s okay… I won’t get angry with you or anything.”

Mel giggled. “I really do like you, you’re different to the other guys I’ve seen,” Mel said.

“Really?”

Shadow and Raven watched them the whole time from the opposite corner, they were interested in how Mel was going to take it.

“Yeah, you’re sweet, kind and very brave,” Mel said. “It’s been great seeing you get your strength back after you have been hurt so badly, those guys had broken your spirit.”

“Me? Brave… Haha,” Pete shook his head and glanced through the window. “I can’t even get through a fight without getting tired.”

Mel sighed as she reached across the table and held his hand. “Hey, you are not a weakling or a loser, you need to start believing in yourself, you have what it takes to be a real hero… It is hard enough to stand against your enemies but people who were your friends take serious guts, yes today did not go well but you have just recovered from a food poisoning, soon you will be stronger than you have ever been, both physically and emotionally.”

“Thanks, Mel,” Pete said as he looked back at her with a little smile, she had somehow broken through all his negativity and warmed his heart, something even those close to him were unable to do. “That means a lot.”

“I know… I’m really proud of you,” Mel said as she tightened her hold on his hand and smiled. “Would you like to have a walk outside for a bit? Go somewhere more private?”

He looked at the opposite side of the room and realised that they were being watched, he rolled his eyes as he was annoyed himself then looked back at her. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Mel smiled and continued to hold his hand as they walked out.

“Remember what I said earlier, no funny stuff, I don’t want any more drama!” Shadow said as they passed him and Raven.

“Ah butt out Shadow, what we do in our own time is no one’s business,” Mel said as she slinked her arm through his.

“Okay, just don’t say I did not warn you,” Shadow said as he waved them off. “Remember you got another long day of training tomorrow Dragon Warrior!”

Pete rolled his eyes as though he could forget that, he had let go of her hand for a few minutes as they went down the over the steps and she tripped over again, he caught her just in time. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah… Just got bad ankles,” Mel said and chuckled nervously.

“Oh… That’s going to make going through the tower hard,” Peter said as he helped her along by holding an arm around her shoulder, they moved into the woods, walked until they found a nice spot by the river bend and looked over the horizon.

“Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” Mel asked.

“Yeah,” Pete replied and smiled.

“Really? What?” Mel asked.

Peter laughed as he bowed his head, he felt sheepish for saying this but was going to go there anyway. “You.”

Mel threw her hand over her mouth and laughed, she thought she ought to see that coming, he was just too cute, the laughter soon died down and she kissed him, he had frozen up for a moment then kissed her back, they were at it for a while so they did not even notice Raven as he watched them in bird-form right beside them.

Mel rested her forehead against his and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “What are we like eh? We have just been over this last night.”

“Did we?” Peter asked, he remembered looking at stars but that was about it.

“Oh yeah, you had that accident and lost bits of your memory… Luckily you have me to look after you,” she said and kissed him again.

“Yeah… I would probably be dead if you weren’t there… I owe you my life,” Peter replied and kissed her back.

Raven rolled his eyes, he was never into all that lovey dove stuff but he was Shadow Man’s spy so he had to keep watch, he could just imagine how devastating it will be for the young fella when Mel gives him the hard blow once she gets the Phoenix flower…The matters of the heart was a tough thing to go through, he guessed he would soon be put out of his misery as Shadow would likely cast the killing curse onto him once he has outlived his usefulness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had tried to add the illustration of the Phoenix flower but unfortunately, it hasn't worked so here is a link to my fanart account on DA, I also have a couple of other illustrations for his fanfic on there so feel free to have a look at those to.  
> https://www.deviantart.com/disneychick2020/art/Phoenix-Flower-859090736  
> I have also scrapped the whole love potion thing, it was just a random idea, it makes it too confusing and kind of hard to sympathise with him as it's like he never really loved her.


	33. Pain & Sorrow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A word of warning, there is a scene with David and Stan that is very upsetting as Stan gets very low on himself to the point he wants to "end it all."

An hour had passed since dinner and Frederic stood in the main study room on his own in the dark, his hands behind his back as he watched his kingdom fall into the darkness of the night. He was in a bad state with bags under his eyes, he had hardly slept as every night he had visions of Peter breaking into his room, sword in hand or worse in Rapunzel's room and stabbed her in the back or slit her throat with a knife. He still had not patched things up with Arianna or Rapunzel, they were not as warm and loving towards him as much as they used to be even Eugene had been distant with him in the past few days. He was still fed up with them for turning on him and ganging up to protect that woman, the one who ruined their home, endangered them, betrayed their trust. He hated her for the pain he thought she was solely responsible for so failed to see what they had seen in her that made her worth fighting for. He ironically felt threatened by Peter, despite being much bigger and stronger than him and a more skilled fighter, he had heard the rumours of him joining a gang with some of which used to work with Caine, he felt strangely hurt that another person who once worked for him had betrayed HIS trust. The silence was broken when he heard a knock at the door. 

"Come in." 

“Your Highness, may I have a word?” Rob asked as he poked his head through the door. 

Frederic raised an eyebrow as he turned to face the guard, this was just like when George accused Cassandra of assault, he wondered if he had come with another complaint about her. He hoped this time it would be a valid one. “What is the matter… Robert?” 

Rob sighed as he held an arm behind his back. “One of the citizens has said they have seen Miss Espinosa and young Mr Jordan in the library… Looking at magical artefacts.”

At that moment Frederic paused, those two with magical things sounded like a recipe for disaster, he did not even like the idea of them working together, he thought there was still a risk she could lure the young alchemist back to the dark side. “Hmm, looks like she is searching for something similar to the moonstone to gain power again… Just like I had feared would happen, you and John keep a close eye on her while she is out in the town, does Captain know anything about this?”

Rob shook his head. “No, Your Highness, I did not see any point in going to him, he would not believe it… He is very soft when it comes to her case.”

Frederic sighed as he stroked his beard, it did sound very suspicious, given her record and experience with the moonstone. “Yes… I have noticed that she has done much more than take that stupid stone, she had kidnapped people, tortured, she pulled in those other people and made him attack against their will, she had made Rapunzel sick with a potion, destroyed people’s homes and businesses! He thinks just doing some chores is enough… The people feel unsafe being in her presence and are already distressed with that mad man Hayes on the loose… How have the searches been going?”

“Still no sign of him Your Highness,” Rob replied.

Frederic breathed a heavy sigh. “I now think it is more likely that someone is sheltering him, perhaps he has made friends with some unsavoury characters just like Mr Jordan had done with the Separatists, putting him in a cell with that man was a mistake… David had failed to stop Cassandra from going as far as she did, we must work hard to protect the people from Hayes and most importantly my daughter.”

“Yes, Your Highness, John and I will make sure no harm comes to your daughter from either Espinosa or Hayes… Although we are now unfortunately short-staffed on the bright side we are now free of the rotten apples and weaklings like Bader,” Rob replied.

Frederic nodded, he looked forward to catching Cassandra in the act and having the satisfaction of telling Eugene, Rapunzel and Arianna he had told them she could not be trusted and be the hero who saves Corona from another disaster. “Thank you for sharing this with me Robert, keep me posted on Miss Espinosa’s progress… If you do eventually catch Hayes bring him straight to me and I will deal with him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Rob said then walked out.

Frederic turned around and looked over the sculpture of Corona. “I will find you, Hayes… You can run all you like but you cannot hide, this is my Kingdom after all.”

Cass sighed as she exited the house with her dad, ready for another day of painting and cleaning, which had surprisingly gone well, she hoped it was going to be the same this time though she did feel a bit sad that it was because they had turned on Pete, still were not willing to forgive her although that did not really matter anymore since she planned to leave the country and make a new start elsewhere. She guessed that was what he was trying to do but went completely the wrong way about it.

“Bye Honey, take care,” David said as he waved her off and headed down.

“See you later Dad… I hope Stan will be feeling at least a bit better today,” Cass said.

David nodded and watched as she headed in the opposite direction.

“Hey, Cass!” Meg said as she approached her with a rucksack slung over her shoulder.

“Hi, Meg… You live around here?” Cass asked.

“No, I’ve been homeless for years since I got away from Shadow I’ve just been going around exploring, going where ever the wind takes me,” Meg replied, a small black and white Jack Russel dog appeared on by her side. “This is my dog… Jack, since that’s his breed.”

“Cool… I had an owl… That I just called Owl, I’m not one for names,” Cass said.

“Yeah… I couldn’t think of one when I got him so I just went with that,” Meg said. “Some pet names are silly like Fluffy.”

“I know a guy that called his cat Mr Happy Paws,” Cass said with a chuckle under her breath, her smile faded and she breathed out a heavy sigh, she could not seem to go through one day without thinking about him, she guessed she shouldn’t be surprised as he was all people were talking about.

“Seriously? How old is he ten?” Meg asked.

“Thirty-Five, believe it or not,” Cass replied, she had never known him to act his age, he was like a big kid even more than Eugene or Lance. “My dad said he was one of his best men... He used to be such a twit but at least I could trust him to have my back in a fight.”

Meg nodded as she glanced at The Wanted Poster. “Sounds like he has really gone off the rails, hopefully, Eugene will find him soon.”

“Yep, it was not so bad at first but it spiralled out of-” Cassandra’s voice trailed off when she had noticed the guards Rob and John as he stood in front of her with his arms crossed, he looked quite similar to Stan but had a beard to go along with his dark handlebar moustache. John like Pete was slightly shorter and much thinner, a long pale face without the freckles and icy blue eyes. It looked like these two were the new Stan and Pete, she never thought she would miss those goofballs so much, she even cried over one of them! 

“Control… Uh, is something wrong?”

Rob huffed as he stared down at her. “The King has ordered us to keep watch over you, don’t think just because of the Peter Case is going on you are off the hook! We received intel that you have shown suspicious activity after you had done your community service on Saturday.”

Cass groaned, she wanted to strangle the person who had ratted her out. “Look… Robert, it’s not what it looked like.”

“You were in the magic section, reading a book with ex-convict Varian Jordan! Clearly trying to find another way to regain the power of the moon stone,” John said.

“No, no… That’s not it at all! I was looking for answers to help… A friend,” Cass replied, it felt odd calling Stan a friend but she could not think of anything else to refer to him as.

“Oh, would that friend be another demon by any chance?” Rob asked as and put air quotes around the word ‘friend.’

Cass sighed as she put a hand over her face. “No, it’s for Stan… As you may have heard he has been made seriously sick by a fellow guard!”

Rob rolled his eyes. “Do I look stupid? You never cared about Bader, he is nothing to you.”

Cass had taken a deep breath to try and keep herself calm. “A person does not have to be a friend or family for you to help them… I sometimes do help people I am not very close to.”

Rob and John scoffed.

“Ah yeah, you really helped the Princess with taking the moon stone from her, that really showed your old man what a great guard you could be!” John taunted her.

Cass growled as she glared at him, she felt very tempted to punch him in the face but had to resist that urge and keep somewhat calm. “Hey, it was not as easy as you think, if Raps had taken the Moon Stone she would have exploded like Zhan Tiri did!”

“Really? If that was the case why would Eugene let her do it? You may have fooled him with your big goo-goo eyes but you're not fooling me, you’re up to something and I am going to put a stop to it!” Rob snapped.

Cass did not reply, she had no words so she just glared at the pair of them until she felt Meg tug at her arm. 

“Come on, Cass, let’s go… Don’t give those dicks the satisfaction that they’re getting to you,” she whispered as she pulled her along. “What you’re doing for Stan is lovely but maybe it is best you don’t pursue the Phoenix flower… People are getting the wrong idea.”

“I have to do something! I can’t just stand by while he’s suffering… This is the only way he can get his mobility back and possibly his memories! He did so much for me when I was down in the dungeons even risked getting into trouble himself!” Cass said. “I never thought much of him before but… Recently I realised how much he has been there for me since I was a kid, when my dad was away searching for Raps he helped me practice my sword-fighting skills… When he was low on staff he had notified me and told me I could try out… He was the only man on the guard who actually wanted me on the team, Pete thought I was daft, the guard was a man’s job no place for ladies… He subtly reminded me of that.”

Meg sighed, she had a tough time of it, she could understand why she was so frustrated. “I can see why you feel so strongly about it but… Try to be more subtle… I live in Saison but I sometimes do go to Old Corona, I’ll keep a lookout for it and bring it over.”

Cass shrugged. “Whether I behave myself or not people are going to talk… I have Eugene and my dad to back me up.”

“You did last time and look how long it took for you to get out of there… Frederic only let you go because his arm was twisted, he would jump at the chance to drag you back in again,” Meg said.

Cass groaned, it seemed like no matter what she did people assumed the worst of her. “I know… Alright, I will lay low until Stan is healed then hopefully I will get some peace!”

Meg nodded then sighed as she glanced over her shoulder, she had seen Rob and John following them and watching them like hawks. “Yeah… I wish you luck, you’re going to need it with these jerks.”

“Hey Stan, how are you?” David asked as he perched on the edge of the bed and held a bowl of soup, he put on a small smile although it did nothing to cheer him up, Lily had told him that she could not get him to eat anything over the weekend which was really unusual for him, it was not that he did not like the food, he loved her cooking, he just did not have the motivation to simply eat.

Stan looked at him blankly and turned his face away.

“I made you some tomato soup,” David said as he lifted the spoon, he could understand why he was so low, he would not like having to be literally spoon-fed by someone but now he could not even hold something as small as that.

“N-Not… H-H-Hungry, Dave,” Stan muttered then his stomach rumbled.

“It sounds like your stomach disagrees with you there… You need to eat Stan,” David said.

“W-What’s the point? I-I’m going to d-die a-anyway,” Stan replied.

“You need to-“ David’s voice trailed off as he became lost for words, he was going to say ’strength’ but he had already lost that.

Stan sighed as he closed his eyes. “J-Just k-kill m-me…Dave… T-There’s no use… In d-dragging this out.”

At that moment David’s jaw dropped, he had almost dropped the bowl from the shock as he could not believe what he had just said. “W-What? No! I-I can’t do that!”

Stan groaned. “D-Dave… L-Look at m-me…I’m so w-weak now I- I c-can’t e-even h-hold a cup or get out of b-bed! There’s no p-point of me being here, L-Lily is a b-beat-iful l-lady… She w-will find a-another m-man… T-to m-marry… Soon, s-she’s b-better… Off without me.”

David gasped, he was speechless, it pained him to see his former worker and friend like this, he shook his head, there was no way he could do that. “No, Stan! Lily will not approve of me… Putting you down… She wants to be with you until the end, I’m sure she has already told you that you are not a burden, she loves you with all her heart! She will never give up on you!”

Tears leaked from Stan’s eyes as he looked back at his former boss. “I k-know s-she does… I-I don’t want to drag this out, I-I want h-her to have a h-happy l-life.”

“She can still have a happy life with you… She wants to see this through to the end, hey maybe with some luck you could be cured!” David said as he put the bowl on the bedside drawer and held his hand, he got teary-eyed himself. “You can get through this together! Don’t give up hope just yet! My daughter Cassandra... Is searching for the Phoenix Flower for you!”

Stan sighed again as he looked down, the little hope he did have was long gone, he did not feel like he could carry on anymore, he did not speak either just continued to cry.

There was silence between the two men for a while until Patch started barking again which meant they had a visitor, David sighed as he remembered Lily saying something about the doctor coming round to check up on Stan.

“Someone’s at the door… I’ll be back in a couple of minutes,” David said then exited the room and walked down the stairs, he was still visibly shaken from seeing him in that state, he did not expect that, before he was crying because he did not want to die and then he was begging him to put him down, he wiped the tears from his cheeks and taken a deep breath, he would have to be calm for when the doctor came in… Although he was not sure what he could do that Xavier and Woodlock could not. “Patch, sit.”

At once Patch stopped barking and sat down in a corner, David had taken another deep breath then opened the door, the doc seemed to be about his age, tall, slim, short brown hair that was starting to grey, wore a white shirt, black jacket and trousers, though looked like he had overworked himself as he appeared to be half asleep.

“Good afternoon, I’m doctor Hughes… I’m here to check on Mr Bader’s progress since I have seen him last week.”

David nodded. “Of course… Lilian said you were coming over, I’m afraid his condition has worsened since you have last seen him.” He stepped aside and let the man enter. “He has lost control of his limbs… Lost his appetite and is in a very low mood… He had just pleaded me to kill him, I just can’t do that.”

“Oh, dear… I was afraid that would happen,” Hughes said and sighed as he shook his head. “It is not pleasant what he is going through, very debilitating… Has he been experiencing any more pain or loss of consciousness?”

“He does have headaches and sleeps more than he should,” David replied as he led him up. “Hey, Stan… The doctor’s come back to-“ His voice trailed off as he opened the door, he could not shake that moment from his mind. “See you.”

Stan did not reply just glanced at him and the doc then looked the other way.

Hughes sighed and knelt on the opposite side of the bed so he could look at him face to face. “Hello, Mr Bader… I am Doctor Hughes… I had seen you when you had collapsed a week ago, I understand you were tricked into taking a dangerous potion that has damaged your brain… How are you feeling now?” 

“Awful… L-Like there’s no p-point… In c-carrying on,” Stan replied but turned his head the other way... “I-Is there a-anything you can do?”

Hughes sighed as he adjusted his glasses. “Well… There is not a cure for your… Condition, I can try to make it as painless as possible… Give you more energy to keep you awake longer, suggest ways that Mr Espinosa can make you feel more comfortable as he assists you... Run a few tests to figure out the best solution.”

Stan groaned as he looked up at the ceiling, he was not in the mood, last thing he wanted was someone poking and prodding him, trying to fix something that was beyond repair, not even the news of the Phoenix Flower had made him feel optimistic, he thought the chances of that happening were small and even if she did it would probably be too late. He felt like a shell of his former self, he no longer felt any joy for life, any excitement or happiness, just emptiness, pain or nothing at all. 

Cass never thought she would make a friend during her community service but she and Meg had bonded quite well, she did not even mention anything about her attacks on Corona or her betrayal to Rapunzel, it was possible that she just did not know about that as she was out in the mountains but she did not seem to care either. She found she was a good help at comforting her when she got filled with anxiety and when Rob and John made digs at her, she was disappointed to not see Eugene, though Varian explained that it was because the King made him supervise the morning and afternoon searches for Pete.

“Did the guards search for Flynn Ryder this much when he was on the loose?” Meg asked as like her she thought it was ridiculous spending so much time, they were clearly looking in the wrong places as it had almost been two weeks since he had ran away and all they found was his shirt, vest and gloves.

“No… Not until he stole the Princess’ tiara, they don’t usually do this many searches for someone, only other time they did was during Rap’s disappearance, my dad was there for most of them… They don’t normally look for missing people but I guess since His Highness feels threatened by him, he is sending them out himself,” Cass replied.

Meg sighed as she dipped her brush in the tin and painted the wall. “Can’t believe Eugene was the one who returned The Lost Princess of Corona, wow!”

“Yeah… I was surprised myself, my dad was over the moon,” Cass said and chuckled under her breath as she thought back on that day, how shortly after she was appointed to be her Lady-In-Waiting, which her dad thought was brilliant news but for her, it was a nightmare, all she wanted was to be a guard but that was not possible, women had their place and men had their’s, it was just the way things were. To top it off she was also the Captain’s daughter, he did not want to risk her getting hurt, though she often found herself wondering if he had a son that he would be as fearful of him coming to harm.

“Cassie, can you pass the yellow please?”

Cass sighed as she was brought back to reality, she picked the yellow tin up and handed it to Varian, it was odd seeing him without his little buddy, she half expected the raccoon to walk in any minute, he was always by his side, she admired the creature for his courage as he risked his life to save his human friend. She was also surprised how calm Varian was, he did not appear to hold any resentment against Pete or show any desire of harming him to avenge Ruddiger, he just got on with things, she guessed he had learnt after his last stunt that it does not do well to give in to feelings of rage and hate. “How have you been doing Varian?”

“Oh… I’ve been okay… Though I miss Ruddiger, playing around with him like it was a game when we were in the lab together… The way he cuddled me when I was upset, it’s just silent in there now,” Varian replied. “Since he was mind-controlled I am not going to hold a grudge against him… If anything it makes me worry about him more, it is an awful thing as it makes you lose control of your actions as you know… I just hope we can stop him before he gets as far as you did.”

Cass nodded as she bowed her head, it pained her to think back on it herself, she would hate for him to fall into the same trap she did though she had a sinking feeling that it was too late, he already had. “Yeah… Me to.”

Mel smirked as she watched from the sidelines while Pete and Shadow had duelled again, he was growing stronger before he struggled to last a few minutes without getting hurt, it had been three hours and he got through it without receiving any more accidental cuts or any more pain. She thought maybe it was a good idea to remove his memories as now he was able to fight with a clear head. He believed he was strong enough to take them on and had nothing left to lose, he had never once mentioned the friend that he used to think of every day.

Pete growled as he lunged at Shadow, he unleashed the rage he had for his former co-workers onto him but unlike the first fight he had improved on his reflexes, now he was healed of headaches and well-rested. Shadow was surprised how he managed to block him almost every time or dodge him completely, he was the one who had the close shaves.

“That’s it! You’re finally getting it!” Just by looking in his grey eyes, he could see the raging fire that burned in his soul. He was no longer afraid of them which was just how he wanted him to be, he figured he had forgotten all about them which worked in their favour.

Pete nodded then struck him again, he had gotten faster and stronger in a short amount of time, much quicker than he ever expected. One thing that motivated him more than that destiny thing Shadow went on about was protecting the love of his life, Mel from those guys who would seek to harm her. He also had visions of the guy in the red and gold jacket, which bugged him more than he would have liked to admit, he figured he was the Captain. The one who had the dogs hunt him down every day after their attempt of poisoning him had failed.

“You’re getting much better Dragon Warrior! You have finally gotten your spark back!” Shadow exclaimed, they clashed a few more times then called it quits for a break as they were both running out of breath.

He nodded as he slipped his sword away, this time he did not feel like falling onto the ground, he did not have a bounding headache much to his relief. He turned around and greeted his new girlfriend, he bent down and kissed her cheek.

“That was brilliant Peter, you got through it without getting hurt this time!” Mel said as she looked at him with a look as though butter would not melt.

“Yeah… I’m getting my strength back, thanks to you for caring for me when I was at my lowest… Literally,” Pete replied as he sat down by her and put an arm around her shoulder. “I’m going to do all I can to protect you from those monsters and get that flower for you.”

“Aww, you’re so sweet,” Mel said and kissed his cheek like she did before she interlocked her fingers with his.

“I love you, Melody,” Peter said as he looked at her straight in the eyes, she smirked as she thought how even with the new Hate Potion he was still the naive and innocent goofball.

“I love you to,” she replied then pulled him into another kiss and just like before he kissed her back.

Shadow rolled his eyes as he watched the pair and sipped some water from his flask, he had no idea what he was letting himself in for, Mel had stolen his heart and once she no longer had any use for him she would crush it to smithereens. It was a thing they often did, build someone up only to then knock them down so much they feel nothing but pain and sorrow. 


	34. A Shoulder To Cry On

“You were The Shadow Man’s girlfriend?” Cass asked as she painted the wall.

“Yeah... I met him sometime after I left the orphanage, I was at my lowest, completely unprepared for adulthood, once you’re fifteen that’s it you’re out. I had nowhere to go or anything to do. Just lost... He lured me in,” Meg replied and breathed a heavy sigh. “I was so desperate for love back then I was stupid enough to fall for him in just a few days, he had gotten me to do things I was not ready for.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Cass said as she held her hand.

Meg’s sighed as she dipped her brush into the tin. “It’s okay.”

“Get out!”

They jumped at the sound of a woman’s voice, they peered through the window and seen Lily pushing Felspar out of the florist.

“I just thought it would be good to tell people their story!” Felspar said as he crashed on the ground. “We don’t know anything about them.”

“You people don’t give a toss about Stan, it’s just a juicy angsty story to you! You have no idea what hell he is going through, he feels like his life has no quality! He thinks he is a burden on me and David, he does not even remember Pete now! You keep going on like he is some selfish jerk when he has been missing for a week so how the hell could he have known? Don’t you think I’ve stressed out enough already? I am pregnant, my child’s life is on the line! Don’t you think I have enough to deal with right now?”

It pained Cass to see her like this, she imagined she would have been the same if she was in her place.

“What’s going on?” Varian asked as he peered through the window.

“Felspar being an insensitive jerk, thinking he can toy with real people’s lives,” Cass said, she put her brush down and went towards the exit but John blocked her.

“Uh, where do you think you’re going? You haven’t finished your shift yet,” he looked at her with narrowed eyes and held a hand out to stop her. This reminded her of the time she had almost caught Dwayne but Pete had beaten her to it and told her to leave it to him and the guys.

“Mrs Bader needs help!” Cass said.

John glanced over her shoulder and seen Felspar getting pushed out of the store by Lily.

“Rob, you handle it!”

Cass groaned, she tried to slip past him but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

“Fine,” Rob muttered then approached her. “Mrs Bader step away from Mr Levi... Grief is not an excuse for bad behaviour.”

“He came to me bombarding me with questions about Stan and Pete for his stupid play! Stan is my husband and Pete is my friend, you can’t seriously expect me to let that idiot publicly humiliate them!” Lily yelled. “My family is falling apart and he was going to exploit it for entertainment!”

“I understand you are upset but still-“ Rob tried to talk her down but she was not having it.

“Upset? No, I’m much more than upset! I am terrified that I am going to lose my husband and my child! My friend who is missing is being demonised by that idiot King!” Lily yelled she had tried so hard to keep a cool head but now something had snapped inside her she had lost control of her emotions.

Rob shot her a nasty glare. “Oh, you know you mustn’t speak badly of the-“

“Screw it! I’m not hurting him, I don’t have to like him... You can carry on kissing his fat butt but I don’t have to!” Lily snapped then went back into the florist.

Rob sighed and shook his head. “I would never let my wife behave like that... Stupid woman doesn’t see how much she is embarrassing her husband.” He turned back to Felspar and given him a hand.

“Are you alright Mr Levi? She was out of order for attacking you.”

Felspar was still shaky but nodded. “Y-Yes I’m okay.”

“Perhaps I should have a word with her employer... That is no way to treat a customer,” Rob said as he peered through the window where she had slumped against the counter and broken into tears.

“No! She needs this job to bring bread to the table! It’s all they have now Stan has been struck off!” Cass shouted out.

“Well, she should have thought of that before she lashed out... If I did that I would get canned,” John said. “She can’t leave the shop to someone with a temper like that.”

“It was not her fault, Felspar should apologise to her! He as harassing her!” Cass argued.

“Yeah, she has been through enough already... I know it’s hard for you to understand since you have as much emotion as a rock but she is not the one in the wrong here,” Meg said.

“Less talking more painting girls,” John said.

“You’re really cocky, I don’t think that’s something Captain Fitzherbert would approve of,” Cass said. “How about I tell him how your buddy has been mistreating his friend’s wife?”

“There’s nothing he can do about it, she broke the terms of her employment she ought to face the consequences,” John said.

“You guys are such jerks... Think you’re something special because you’ve got a shiny armour on! You’re not, get off your high horse and leave the poor woman alone!” Varian snapped. “She is struggling, she needs help, not punishment!”

“Quiet kid!” John sneered. “Three of you get back to work!”

“I don’t have to listen to you!” Varian shouted. “I have been abused by guards like you, I won’t let you hurt someone else!”

John watched quietly as the three of them walked out of the store and went into the florist.

“Mrs Bader?” Cassandra said in a hushed tone, she knelt and put a hand on her shoulder.

Lily's eyes widened as she looked at the younger woman. “C-Cassandra? What- You can’t be here... If the guards see you-“

“Never mind them, Eugene will understand, Stan is his friend after all... I am so sorry you had been put through that,” Cass said.

“Yeah what he did was out of line, what is going on with your husband is no one’s business, he had no right to go into it like that,” Varian said, he held a hand out to her. “Here let me help you up.”

Cass supported her by putting a hand over her shoulders, she felt a bit panicked as she feared the worst for her unborn child.

“It’s okay, Mrs Bader, just sit down here,” she carefully led her behind the counter and sat her down. “Is your womb sore?”

Lily nodded as she put her arms over it and leaned down.

Cass felt her heart sunk as she continued to cry while touching her bump, she glanced at Varian and he appeared to feel the same way although neither of them knew anything about pregnancy, they could only hope her baby was okay.

“Here, I got some water for you,” Meg said as she held a cup for her.

“T-Thank you, dear,” Lily said and sipped her drink. She groaned as the pain worsened, she had almost dropped the cup. She put a hand against her forehead and cried. “That guard is going to tell Flora that I had attacked Felspar and I’ll get canned!”

“No, you won’t... He was stressing you out, he is in the wrong here not you,” Cass said as she comforted her shoulder. “You’re not going to be in any trouble.”

Lily did not reply, she just cried and whimpered she could not take it anymore.

“It’s okay, Mrs Bader... We can explain everything,” Cass said.

“Lilian... A guard told me to had gotten into a fight with a customer.”

Cass, Meg and Varian turned around and seen an elderly woman at the doorway she was a bit taller than Crowley and had a friendlier looking face though this time she had a frown.

“I-I’m sorry Mrs Potter... I kinda lost control when he was asking me about my husband and my friend... Who is missing and people keep saying he is a murderer,” Lily said.

“It’s true... Mrs Potter, Felspar was stressing her out trying to get information about them for his stupid play,” Cass said.

Mrs Potter shook her head. “This is out of character for you Lilian but I know how much of a buffoon the cobbler is... Also considering your circumstances I won’t dismiss you, just do not do it again... Are we clear?”

“Y-Yes Mrs Potter,” Lily replied as she bowed her head. “Thank you.”

“Alright, you three should get back to your work,” Mrs Potter said and pointed to the door.

Cass sighed and turned back to Lily as she was still shaking and still held on to her waist, she was not sure if it was okay to leave her. “Are you sure you’re okay Mrs Bader?”

Lily did not reply right away, she just nodded. “Y-Yes… I’ll be alright… You should get back to work… I don’t want you to get into trouble either.”

“Okay, just be careful,” Cass said in a soft voice as she looked at her growing womb, it looked like she still had quite a way to go.

“You have got a little fighter there if it can survive the hurt incantation it can manage anything the world throws at it,” Mrs Potter said as she put on a little smile.

Lily gulped, she had not even thought about that. “W-What if the baby isn’t okay? W-What if that spell had hurt him or her? W-What if… He or she is already dead?” She bursted into tears again. 

“Have you been bleeding?” Meg asked.

“N-No,” Lily replied as she shook her head.

“Then your baby is still alive… If it had died your body would have removed it before now… It looks like you’re further ahead than you thought, you don’t get a bump like that until later on, it’s okay all it has to do is grow,” Meg said as she touched her other shoulder.

Cass nodded then turned back to Lily. “I better get back now but if you need anything just call me over okay?”

“O-Okay… Thank you,” Lily replied.

“No problem… You can call me Cass.”

Meg waved her hand and smiled. “Meg.”

Varian put on a small smile as he stood by the doorway. “Varian… Although I don’t know anything about… Pregnancy but uh, I’ll try to help to.”

Meg rolled her eyes and chuckled under her breath. “It’s okay Varian, you don’t need to… Just show some compassion and empathy.”

Cass put on a small smile as she turned to Lily one last time. “Bye Mrs Bader.”

Lily had given her a little wave as she followed Meg and Varian out of the florist.

“Are you okay?” Varian asked he could not help but notice she looked upset like she was about to cry herself.

“Yeah… I’m good… Now let’s get back to some painting!” Meg said as she put on a fake smile and laughed.

“Alright, Espinosa get back to work!” Rob snapped and pointed to the half-finished building.

Cass rolled her eyes, she hoped it would be a different guard watching her tomorrow like Will, he seemed to be one of the few decent ones left on the squad. “You know, there’s more to being a guard than fighting and catching bad guys… It’s caring for people, if you had thought more carefully you would have noticed that Mrs Bader is vulnerable as she is pregnant and she is bound to be distressed with the circumstances she is going through!”

“I don’t care if she is pregnant, she should not have lashed out at Mr Levi like that,” Rob said. “She and Bader are not fit parents, their child will likely be trouble.”

“You don’t even know them! How Stan was as a guard has nothing to do with his parenting, he might not even get the chance to if he does not get the flower… You know what? Just keep digging that hole but the word of warning Captain Fitzherbert will not take it well if he hears you talking badly about him,” Cass said.

Rob shrugged. “What would he care? He’s nothing to him.”

“Stan is his friend! Why else do you think he has tried to give him some help when he lost his memory? Some leeway to recover until he learnt it was incurable? He is very upset to have lost them… To him Stan and Pete were more than guards, they were friends, they bonded over the time they were preparing to fight Zhan Tiri, it just, unfortunately, that bond has been torn,” Cass said. “He has been going around looking for answers like me to help get them back, we don’t want to lose them. He had permitted me to go to the library with Varian over the weekend to find and yesterday to research about the Phoenix Flower because right now that’s his only hope!”

“Give it up… I know you do not care about Bader any more than I do, disgraceful you are using his situation to cover up your real scheme to become powerful again,” Rob said.

“No! That’s not it at all, I would never do something like that unlike someone I could mention!” Cass snapped and pointed at the Wanted poster for Pete. 

Rob did not reply just huffed.

“Alright, enough of the ranting Missy, get to work, the walls aren’t going to paint themselves you know!” John snapped and pushed her into the store.

Varian shot him a glare as though to say touch my Cassie one more time and you will pay!

“Don’t waste your breath on those two, they won’t understand,” Meg said. “It’s very brave of you to pursue the Phoenix Flower despite the risks it poses to you… I hope Freddy Boy will keep off your back but that does not seem likely.”

“Yeah… They have no idea about what Stan and I have gone through… They don’t even know what is happening with Pete but people are still judging him.”

“As they will do… Back in Varderos people had spread lots of rumours about me… I left, I had explored Equis and all the other kingdoms but could not fit into any of them… I thought Corona would be a good place to try, it seemed great… The Sunshine Kingdom, it has some serious problems,” Meg said.

“Right?” Cass said as she picked up her paintbrush and dipped it into the tin.

“Yeah, those guards are such jerks… Eugene needs to sort those two out, get them off their high horse,” Meg said. “They act like they are the Captain!”

“For our sake, I hope they don’t, the worst guard in the whole squad was almost made Captain once,” Cass said.

“What? The King was about to fire Eugene? Why?” Varian asked, his eyes widened and he had paused halfway through his area on the wall.

“Yeah, he had given him three days to find Pete and evidently he failed to do that which was not even realistic in the first place! It’s not easy to find someone whose in hiding,” Cass said.

“That’s so unfair, it’s not even Eugene’s fault that Pete ran away, why is he so scared of him anyway?” Varian asked.

“He thinks he had murdered a fellow guard and is afraid he is going to murder Raps to,” Cass said and sighed.

“That’s ridiculous, it could have been anyone! I imagine you do get a few enemies on the guard, it could have been someone who was a prisoner and wanted revenge,” Varian said. “Although… Come to think of it Pete has literally been out of his mind so he might have but he should at least trial him before telling everyone he is a murderer!”

“Yeah but you know how he is,” Cass said as she breathed a heavy sigh. “Just jumps straight to it… He’s going to get sent to a mental asylum somewhere far from here.”

Varian’s eyes widened as he remembered him saying something about that and he had tried to reassure him that would not happen before the mind control thing was triggered. “I never thought I would be saying this but poor Pete.”

Cass nodded as she moved her brush up. “Same, I never cared much about him before… I had tried to reason with him but he wouldn’t have it.”

“I did to… Ruddiger insisted I helped him when he saw him crying… George had winded him up about his past… He was in that orphanage himself which was something I never knew about him… Come to think of I don’t know anything about him, I’ve never been interested either, it’s not like we’re mates or anything,” Varian said.

“Yeah… There’s very little I know about him, Eugene has been worrying himself sick about him so spent a lot of time trying to help him… It got in the way of him preparing me for the trial but I know it’s not that he thinks he is more important but considering the state he was in he was a danger to himself and others… He could still be,” Cass replied. “I have a feeling Corona is going to be destroyed again before it has even had a chance to fully recover.”

“Well, it may not be that bad… Good thing we’re an island surrounded with water and not landlocked like Invarg,” Varian said. “I think we got this… Project Obsidian 2.0!”

Cass hummed, she had not thought of that but still, she was not sure it would be an easy win for them, the fire would still leave devastating damage to homes and buildings, she could just imagine how enraged Frederic would be if Pete had set his castle alight, he would probably be in for the chop then. She found the time went quicker when she was with Varian and her new friend Meg, it was even somewhat enjoyable so it was not as bad as she thought it was going to be.

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh as he returned to New Corona with a heavy heart on Max after another unsuccessful search, this time they had not even found a clue as to where he was, he felt like he had the world on his shoulders, he was worried about Cass being set up again and losing Stan, although he was not his best mate like Lance since he had become Captain they had become good friends he thought it was the same with Pete but he was not so sure. He had not seen Stan since he had been sent home, he wondered how he was getting on. “Hey Joe, go on ahead… I’ll come back to the castle later.”

Joe paused and turned to him. “Cap… Where are you going?”

“To Stan’s… He’s my friend and I haven’t had a chance to see him,” Eugene said.

“Okay… Don’t be too long mind, there’s still a lot more work to do,” Joe said. “What is the King planning to do with Evans?”

Eugene sighed as he knew how little spare time he had to see anyone and he had the whole squad to lead, he had not even thought of George that day but remembered the King’s decision. “He is to be executed in a few days… By hanging, Ron and Rob are going to be doing it… I need to question him about Pete and The Shadow Man, I should get a few more clues into his whereabouts and what is going on… Cass thinks he is trying to do the same thing as Zhan Tiri, have Pete get some kind of magical stone for him and the Phoenix flower for ultimate power, if that’s the case why couldn’t he have just gotten it himself? Why drag Pete into this?”

Joe shrugged. “Maybe the same could be said for Zhan Tiri, I guess there is something that stops them from getting it or they’re just lazy asses.”

“Possibly,” Eugene replied then looked into the distance. “I had hoped he would return once the Hate Potion had worn off but that seems unlikely now The Shadow Man has him, goodness knows what he has been doing to him, probably dosed him with more potions making him sicker in more ways than one.”

“Yeah… It’s sad, if he had he could have gotten help and return to the guard but if he is found guilty of Dan’s murder or attacks us then that will not be possible,” Joe said.

Eugene sighed as he nodded, he knew that it saddened him to even think about it, there was no need for all this, he wished he had listened to Stan and Xavier but that potion messed with his head. This fog clouded his mind so badly he was not able to think clearly and now he was trapped, it seemed no matter how hard he tried he could not save him. “Anyway, I’ll see you later Joe.”

Joe nodded then turned his horse around and led the rest of the group back to the castle. “Come on men, hopefully, we’ll have better luck next time.”

Eugene had taken a deep breath and moved further down the street, he had glanced through the window of the shop where Cass, Meg and Varian were working, he was relieved that at least one thing was going well as much as he would have liked to stop and chat he was pushed for time, he only had a chance to have a quick catch up with Stan. He noticed the high street had started to get a bit of somewhat normality, people passed up and down going about their daily business, a few stopped and stared at him, wondering what he was doing riding through the street alone? He eventually made it to Stan’s home, he hopped off Max and knocked on the door, he waited a few minutes and seen David who looked distressed.

“Eugene? What brings you here?” David asked. “Shouldn’t you be at the castle or looking for Pete?”

“It’s been a while since I had last seen Stan, although I’m not as close to him as I am with Lance he has become a good friend to me,” Eugene said. “I thought it would be a good thing to pay him a little visit but if it’s a bad time I understand.”

David sighed as he pondered whether it was a good idea after he had just seen the doctor but maybe it could make him feel a bit better to see someone from the outside world who could share a story with him so he did not feel so lost. “I suppose you could see him for a bit… Although I ought to warn you he has not been in good spirits lately.”

“I can understand that,” Eugene said as he entered. “It’s awful what he is going through… How have you been managing with caring for him?”

David sighed again as he glanced at the floor. “It’s been difficult… He was okay at first but as his condition has worsened even though it’s just been a few days, he feels like he can’t carry on, that he is too much of a burden on Lilian and me… He had asked me to-“ his voice trailed off as he could not bring himself to say it again.

“Oh no,” Eugene’s eyes widened even without finishing that sentence he had gotten the hint of what he was trying to say, he never imagined Stan would be in that kind of situation, it shocked him being so sudden. “Is he in a lot of pain?”

“He has been on and off… I think it’s more to do with the way he has lost his mobility and independence… Neither Lilian nor I can get him to eat, usually, he loves food, lunch was always his favourite time of the day,” David said and chuckled dryly as he thought back on the days they had worked together. “I had told him about the Phoenix flower but that has not inspired any hope… I am still shocked before he was crying because he did not want to die so soon and now… He has completely changed his mind in a day… I have tried to reassure him but he still feels scared about dragging this out.”

“I guess he does not think it will work or take too long… He really has not been himself,” Eugene said.

The dam broke as he bowed his head and put a hand over his forehead. “I don’t know what to do, I have no experience in caring for people who are seriously ill like him.”

Eugene sighed as he put a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. “It’s okay David… You are doing very well, being a carer is a very tough job, your feelings are completely valid, I’m glad you are here… One of the few people I can trust around here, I will do what I can to help Cass find the flower… It’s going to be very upsetting seeing a friend like this.”

“T-Thank you Eugene… I just thought I would let you know, the doctor has also given him some medication to keep him awake longer but he cannot move, I have no idea what brought that on… I thought that potion was just supposed to wipe out his memories,” David said then turned around and led him upstairs.

“Perhaps something else was mixed in with it or this is due to the damage to his brain,” Eugene said. “If Dan had not have been killed we could have gotten some answers from him about the prison poisonings to… Though I’ll have the displeasure of doing that with Evans later then he is to be hanged.”

David nodded. “Good riddance, fitting he is going to be the first person you execute… He has ruined Stan’s and Pete’s lives, serves him right to be destroyed.”

“Yeah,” Eugene muttered, he still did not like the idea of it but seen no point in challenging it, he found it hard enough just to look at the man who had hurt his friends, put them at risk and made them seriously sick.

There was a moment of silence as David opened the door, Stan was still, staring through the window with a solemn expression on his face, he knew how much he longed to get out there again but it seemed to be out of his reach if it was not for the paralysing effect of the potion he possibly could have gone outside for a little while.

“Hey Stan, you have another visitor,” David said in a hushed tone as he moved aside to let Eugene in. “Eugene… The new Captain of the Royal Guard… The man who saved Princess Rapunzel.”

Stan did not reply just looked at him blankly even though he was now able to stay awake longer he felt fed up being truly stuck in bed, looking at the same four walls twenty-four seven and the knowledge that any day could be his last had scared him before but as he worsened he was not sure how much longer he could bear it. He thought he was holding Lily back and wasting David’s time that he could better spend with his daughter, most of all he felt awful with how he could not even do the most simple things for himself, no matter how hard he could not get his hand to grip the handle or his legs to just move. 

Eugene sighed as he could see why David was so worried about him, he looked like he had lost all hope he had. “I know you don’t remember me but we are friends… Not the close kind but on a good level, you were one of my best men… On and off the battlefield you always had my back, I could trust you with anything… You helped me through a very difficult time with another friend, Cassandra, who was dragged to the dungeons over a crime she did not even commit.”

Stan still did not speak, just looked at him then the other side of the room, his head seemed to be the only thing he could move properly before he would have been eager to hear the story about Cassandra but this time he was not, he did not see the point in trying to catch up if he was going to pass away any day.

Eugene sighed as he knelt by his bedside and continued to look straight at him. “I know you have been feeling low on yourself lately… It’s okay to feel scared or depressed, you don’t have to stay strong all of the time, your feelings are valid… I don’t know what you are going through but I can understand the reasons behind it, you can talk to us… We’re all here to support you in any way we can. You can get through this.”

Stan sighed as he sounded just like David, he knew all that… He just wanted this to stop, his heart was broken when he learnt of his fate now he was longing for it just to put him out of this misery. “I-I can’t… C-cope w-with this… Neither c-can L-Lily… I-It’s making her c-cry… M-My life… H-Has no q-quality… I-I have to be c-cleaned by my w-wife… S-Spoon f-fed by her and D-Dave, w-what’s t-the point in d-dragging t-this out f-for w-weeks or m-months.”

Eugene’s eyes widened as it pained him to hear his friend say those things although he could understand where he was coming from, he was silent for a moment as he tried to think of a good way to respond. He reached up and held his hand and looked him in the eyes. “I know this is painful for you… It is very difficult as well but it is going to be okay, just keep holding on... There is a glimmer of hope that you could get better soon.”

“E-Every-o-One… S-Said… I’m g-going to d-die,” Stan said as he looked at the Eugene with narrowed eyes and groaned as he felt a painful pang in his head.

“I know but that was before we knew of the Phoenix Flower, this has the power to heal you!” Eugene said.

Stan just groaned again. “Oh, that.”

“It’s a possibility, at least there is light at the end of the tunnel for you… David really does want to see this through with you and so does your wife, they know you are hurting very badly… It’s not too late to save you,” Eugene said as he tightened his grip slightly. “I have got your back… No matter what we will get through it, together… Yeah?”

Stan did not reply, he could not think of what to say, for the third time that day he had broken down into tears.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Eugene whispered as he rubbed his shoulders. “I’ve got you.”

In some ways Eugene was much like Rapunzel, he did not care how wet his jacket got, his spirit had been broken, he had lost so many things in such a short period of time, his friend needed a shoulder to cry on, he was glad he had gone against his normal routine and visited him that day. 

After a long day of painting and cleaning the three of them headed out of the shop, Cass felt worried about Meg, she remembered hearing that the guards suspected Peter had moved out to Saison and that was where The Shadow Man was sighted by her and Will. She also learnt she had been living there, it was not safe, she could run into him or Pete while he was mind-controlled. She was broken out of her thoughts when she had spotted her slumped against the wall with her dog beside her, she had her head buried in her arms and appeared to be crying. She figured she had just been thinking the same thing, she felt a bit bad for questioning her about Shadow earlier, she knelt in front of her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Meg, what’s wrong?”

Meg did not reply right away, she was clearly shaken as her arms shivered and her face was covered in tears, her eyes had become red and puffy. “I-I’m s-scared Cass… S-Shadow I-Is b-Back… I’m afraid h-he or the Serpents are going to kill me!”

“Serpents? Who are they?” Cass asked.

“T-That’s the name of his gang! He got fed up of Caine’s and started his own… Mostly with witches and wizards but takes in none magical people sometimes, I have been living in Saison for a few weeks now… Now he knows I’m here to and I had just gotten in his way by saving the guard he was going to kill I’m afraid he will try to kill me again!” Meg cried.

“I see… To be honest, I was thinking the same thing, I have heard from the guards that they suspect Pete has moved to Saison or rather had been moved there… You can stay with me at my dad’s house, you will be perfectly safe there, Jack can come to, he loves animals and is good with dogs!” Cass said.

Meg sighed and looked at her with a worried expression. “I’m not sure your dad would like the idea of you bringing a total stranger into his house and Jack isn’t house trained.”

Cass shook her head. “Don’t worry, my dad is a very compassionate person, he will understand that you are at risk and will want to keep you safe from your abusive ex-boyfriend… We can work on Jack’s house training so that’s not too much of a problem either, he can help you get you back on your feet just like he had done for me when I was a young child.”

Meg gasped, she was so touched, she had not come across such kindness for a very long time. “T-Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome,” Cass said then stood up and held out a hand for her, Meg had taken it and held onto her for support, as her she was nervous about coming into New Corona, helping out with the repairs in hopes of making some friends. She did not make many but was glad to have made a great one with Cass in such a short period of time.


	35. Dreams And Nightmares

“Your dad’s house is really nice,” Meg said as she walked in with Cass, it was one of the bigger cottages further down the island. She rubbed her arms as the air turned cold, she was glad she wasn’t going to be sleeping out there again.

“Yeah, perks of being a Captain I guess, highest wages of all castle staff,” Cass said as she rubbed her hands now summer was nearing autumn it was turning chilly, she picked up a match and lit up the fireplace, she loved the feeling of its warmth on her hands. She smiled as she looked at Meg. “Take a seat.”

Meg sat herself down on the new couch, it was a dark red, Jack laid down by her feet, for a street dog he was doing very well adapting to an indoor environment.

“Thank you so much,” Meg said and breathed a heavy sigh, for once she felt safe that she didn’t have to keep looking over her shoulder or sleep with a frying pan at hand.

“No problem, my dad will be coming back in a bit,” Cass said. “He makes lovely soup and stew.”

Meg smiled. “Sounds great, I haven’t had a proper meal in ages.” She sighed as she looked down at her thin waist, she had mostly been living on fish and berries.

Cass nodded as she remembered when she was out in the wilderness herself with Zhan Tiri, she yawned as she stretched her arms up and her back, she was so tired, she could see Meg was exhausted after sleeping rough for so long. “What a day… I didn’t expect it to be quiet but not that much trouble, sometimes I could just slap Felspar myself the stuff he comes up with.”

“Yeah… Poor Lil, I hope Eugene gets rid of those two guards… They are the exact people that should not have that job,” Meg said.

Cass nodded. “Yeah… I haven’t seen them be this bad before, some fail to realise that there is more to being a soldier than being big and mighty.”

“Yeah… I know Lil should have kept calm, maybe not throw Felspar out but Rob should have been a bit more careful with her and they talked to us like we were dirt!” Meg said. “I hope they aren’t going to be watching us tomorrow!”

Cass breathed a heavy sigh. “I have a bad feeling they will, something I’m more worried about is what the King is going to do with me and Varian.”

Meg narrowed her eyes as she looked at her. “What? Is reading about magic a crime now? Is the censorship in Corona that bad? In Equis, if you dare to speak ill of King Trevor it’s off to the dungeon with you or the Prison Barge to the middle of nowhere.”

“Seriously?” Cass gasped, she knew Trevor was another self-centred super-rich jerk but she did not expect that she had never known Frederic to imprison someone for calling him names but would not put it past him.

“Yeah… Thinks it makes him look tough, the guard warned Lil not to speak badly of the King but she did not seem to care… For a minute I thought she was going to get arrested,” Meg said.

Cass sighed as she shook her head. “That would have been a nightmare, I’m glad she didn’t but he almost got her fired!”

“Yeah… I feel really bad for her, husband gravely ill, anxiety about her pregnancy,” Meg said, she sighed as she stared off into space. “I-“

“Huh?” Cass blinked as she looked at her, she had grown concerned as she bowed her head and wrapped her arms around her torso, she heard her whimper and her right leg had begun to shake frantically, Cass moved closer to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Meg? What’s wrong?”

“I-I had been there… I was pregnant once a few years ago but I… I had lost it, Shadow made me think it was my fault because I did something wrong… I keep having flashbacks of him hitting me… Tricking me into taking potions and getting me to do stuff for him!” Meg cried.

“Oh, Meg… I am so sorry you had been through that,” Cass said as she rubbed her back. “I know you’re scared as he has seriously hurt you but it’s okay, no matter what I will not let him get to you, I will do all I can to keep you safe so will Eugene with the guys… The ones who aren’t big jerks.”

Meg wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down. “Thanks, Cass.”

Cass smiled, that was the third time she had thanked her, it was not often she was thanked by anyone but she could see that this woman was very troubled and understandably anxious, it would take some time for her to settle. “No problem… You can stay here for as long as you need, it will take a while but you will get justice… We’ll find a way to bring Shadow down once and for all!”

“I hope so… It doesn’t look like he is going to stop, he usually goes for broken birds, people that look like they need fixing, I’ve never known him to target a man before, I think he would have gotten Mel to manhandle Pete to keep him on their side… If he’s anything like me he would be the sucker that would fall for it,” Meg said as she leaned her head on her hand.

“Possibly… I once did but I was working undercover to catch a Saporian Separatist when he tried to steal Herz Der Sonne’s diary to learn about the underground tunnels,” Cass said. “Pete is the kind of guy that would fall for it… Some people are just so clever they know all the right buttons to push to convince you that you are doing the right thing for you when it’s actually for them, it’s kind of ironic since he had criticised me for going against Raps for my personal gain and then he had gone against Eugene and paired up with a potions dealer.”

Meg nodded. “Yeah, it does… If he does get through this alive I imagine you two will finally reach an understanding of each other, what happened with you and that demon could have happened to anyone, this Zhan Tiri sounds like one determined little gremlin, she would not have stopped even if you said no, I can see quite a few people going down the same path you did.”

“She definitely was… I’m sure she would have kept searching until she found one lost soul with a tragic backstory or lots of insecurities and lured them in,” Cass said. “I really thought she was the only one who cared about me and saw the potential I had, she made me believe that the moonstone was meant for me… It wasn’t until she snatched it away from me I realised it was all a trick.”

“She played you for a sap but I’m sure she regretted it in the end,” Meg said. “I heard you and the Princess blew her up.”

Cass laughed as she thought back on that moment. “We did, the first rule of combat is to turn your enemies strength into a weakness, we used her hair to bound Zhan Tiri’s wrists together as she had the Sun-Drop and the Moon Stone in them once they clashed there was an explosion… Although I had almost died luckily there was still a bit of magic left to save me.”

“Wow… That’s amazing, you had put yourself in the front line… That takes serious guts,” Meg said.

Cass shrugged. “Well, it was only Raps and me who were not affected by the Hurt incantation… Everyone else had been injured or killed, Pete had almost died which is one reason he turned against me since I had brought her over yet he has just put his own life in danger by running away but never mind, he will soon learn to be careful who he trusts… Some people do have to be told several times before the message sinks in.”

“Yep, I have made that mistake many times myself… I wish there was something at the orphanage that prepared kids for after they leave so they are not so lost and struggle so much with adulthood maybe then Eugene and Lance would not have turned to a life of crime, I would not have gotten mixed up with him and the Serpents,” Meg said and breathed a heavy sigh.

“That would be a great help, I was lucky to have been taken in so quickly,” Cass said.

“Yeah… There have been couples who had taken in Eugene and Lance but they got brought back after a few weeks for being too much of a bother,” Meg said. “Same happened to me to… Then I went through the rest of the time not being picked at all.”

Cass nodded but she felt bad for picking on Eugene and Lance for being losers, she had no idea what they had been through but her heart went out to them, she imagined how much of a pain it would be being moved about from place to place, have someone raise your hopes only to crush them later. There was silence between the two of them for a while as they had run out of things to say, Meg reached down and stroked her little boy.

“Whoo, whoo!”

Cassandra jumped a bit when she heard that sound, for a moment she thought she was hearing things then it happened again.

“Whoo, whoo!”

She gasped and dashed to the window, she pulled the curtain back and much to her surprise had seen her old feathery friend.

“Owl! You’ve found me!”

“Whoo, whoo,” Owl cooed as he looked at her through the window, Cass unfastened the latch and opened it wide enough to him to pass through. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much! I thought I would never see you again!”

“Aww, you’ve got Owl back!” Meg said as she got up and walked over to get a closer look. “Oh, he’s gorgeous, owls are such wonderful creatures.”

Cass giggled. “Owl says thank you, he thinks you are gorgeous to.”

Meg laughed. “Aww, he’s such a sweetheart!”

Cass smiled as she looked at her closest companion. “Owl, this is my friend Meg, she’s staying with us to keep her safe from harm.”

Owl cooed and leaned into her touch as she gently stroked his head, Cass glanced at Meg as she looked on in awe.

“It’s okay, he doesn’t peck everyone… He seems to like you,” Cass said.

“Oh… Okay,” Meg had taken a deep breath and carefully touched Owl’s wing. “I’ve never been this close to an owl before, he’s wonderful.”

“Yeah… I’ve had him for a long time, sometimes I think owls make better friends than people,” Cass said.

“Haha yeah, I’ve said the same thing about dogs! Jack is my best buddy, he’s always been by my side ever since I found him abandoned on the street in a box, someone had an unwanted litter and just dumped them… He was the only one left.”

Cass nodded and smiled, that was sad but sweet at the same time. “I had found Owl on the training field… He had somehow broken his left-wing, I made a splint and was going to release him into the wild when he recovered but he wanted to stay with me, he was always there for me even when I was at my worst.”

“That’s lovely,” Meg said as she looked at Owl in the eyes. “You had done that just for him, you could have just left him to suffer out there.”

“Well, if I didn’t he would have been taken out by someone and likely killed… I have heard of a guard drowning unwanted puppies, some of those guys have no feeling of empathy at all which after everything I’ve been through with them is very worrying,” Cass said.

“It sure is… It’s like they have no humanity at all,” Meg said.

“I haven’t known it to be this bad before,” Cass said. “Well, some have always been jerks but Evans was really something else… Pure evil.”

“I hear he is going to be strung up in a few days, he will finally be out of your life,” Meg said.

“Yeah… He’s finally going to get his just desserts, I wish I could have been there to see his face when Eugene ordered the guards to arrest him just when Frederic had drunkenly appointed him to be Captain,” Cass laughed as she shook her head.

Meg chuckled as she imagined the scene. “I can just imagine it, haha… Good on Eugene for fighting for standing up to him.”

“All he needed was a little nudge, it was hard to get it through to him as I hardly got a chance to see him when the Pete thing started,” Cass said. “I hope he is feeling better now… He has been under a lot of stress lately, he was completely worn out when he brought me back to my dad.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed It was midnight and he was still working! I hope that he is at least getting more time to sleep,” Meg said. 

“He should have finished at ten in at night, he can’t lead the guard if he is drowsy, typical Eugene… Trying to save the world, one person, at a time, he will have to be careful he doesn’t burn himself out, that was a bad habit my dad had when he was a guard,” Cass replied, she jumped again as she heard the door suddenly open. Funny how she was just talking about him and he appeared. “Hey Dad, great news, Owl is back!”

“That’s great Honey,” David said through his tone sounded unusually flat as he walked in, Cassandra’s heart sunk a bit as she had taken a look at him, he looked distressed and guilty? She had set Owl down on the arm of a chair and approached him.

“Dad? What’s wrong?”

David breathed a heavy sigh as he put a hand over his face, he seemed to have lost the ability to mask his emotions like he used to, he could not bring himself to say it to her. “It’s nothing… I’m just tired that’s all, it’s been a long day.”

“Dad, I can tell just by looking at you that you are upset, did something go wrong with Stan?” Cassandra asked.

David did not reply right away, he bit his lip which was something he often did when he was anxious, it was no use he could not hide it from her, she was too observant… A trait she seemed to have picked up from him. “I’m afraid… I had hurt him… Mistakenly speeded up the damage to his brain.”

Cass blinked a few times and stared at him unsure how to respond at first. “What? How could you have hurt him? You’re more gentle with him than you have been with anyone.”

David sighed as he slumped on a chair. “I think I have… Given him something that was not safe for him to use… A few days ago he was having headaches from sleeping too much… I thought the pain-killing potion would help but now I fear it has done more harm than good.”

Cass breathed a heavy sigh as she put a hand on her temple. “Oh, Dad.”

“That’s the only way I can think of that had brought on the… Paralysis, he was light-headed, confused and forgetful... His movement was not too bad just slow and suddenly it had gotten much worse,” David said. “The Doctor came in earlier, tested his limbs… He has no feeling in them, he can’t move very well or grip anything, he thought maybe he would be able to relearn how to do it but that got debunked… He is still having headaches on and off, that’s why he has been in such low spirits… He has lost all hope, he’s scared about what is going to happen to him next… We’ve been worried that he will pass away very soon.”

Cass had taken a deep breath to keep herself calm. “Okay, Dad… I think for your own peace of mind you ask someone knowledgable about potions maybe Xavier or Woodlock, it might just have been something that Evans had put in… Something that acted slower than the forgetfulness potion to make him suffer more pain,” Cass said.

“I can’t believe I could have been so stupid, the very reason they did not even want to attempt to make a potion for him was because of the risk of furthering his suffering, they have no way of telling what was in that potion or what it was going to do… Now I’m not sure if the doctor did the right thing giving him energy medication… What if that has the opposite effect and wear him down more?” David asked.

“Dad, Dad… Listen, although it is not advisable to give medication to other people as it can be risky I don’t think it was your fault Stan lost his mobility, it could be a sign that his brain is failing… First, it had hurt the part where we store our memories now it’s taken the part that controls our movement… Didn’t Xavier say that it damages the brain to exhaustion?” Cass asked.

“Y-Yes, he did,” David replied. “You sure I should ask him?”

Cass nodded. “Yeah… You could just ask what effects the forgetfulness potion has other than removing memories and what potions cause paralysis… I think there’s a serum that does that… I imagine Evans would have wanted Stan to suffer extremely being the sadistic jerk he is.”

David nodded, it was odd for him to be comforted by his daughter, usually, it was the other way round, he had taken another deep breath to calm himself down and looked over her shoulder where he had seen her new friend. “Who is this?”

“Oh, this is my new friend Megan… I met her on my first day on community service… She is a volunteer, she is new to Corona… She has been trying to find a new home like I am going to do but the problem is her abusive ex-boyfriend is The Shadow Man and now he has seen her she is at risk, she needs somewhere secure to stay until he is off the streets for good,” Cassandra said as she stood beside her. “She has been homeless since she left the orphanage in Varderos, once they are fifteen they get sent out into the world completely unprepared for life outside of care… She has been living in Saison for the past few weeks where he has been sighted, they have already crossed paths, I offered her shelter here.”

Meg gulped as she looked at him, she was afraid he was going to say no and get Cass to send her out, she could understand him not being comfortable with having a stranger in his house… For all, he knew she could be a Serpent herself but much to her surprise he nodded.

“I see… This Shadow Man sounds like a nasty piece of work, you can stay here for as long as you need Megan,” David said as he tried to make himself look more friendly even though he felt embarrassed for having a nervous breakdown in front of her. “We can keep you safe from him.”

“Thank you, Mr Espinosa, I’ve been afraid he will try to kill me again since I’ve already gotten in his way when I rescued a guard that he tried to murder,” Megan said.

“You’re welcome… Make yourself at home, I’ll make supper for you and Cass,” David said as he stood himself up and went over to the kitchen.

“Your dad looks like he needs help himself, he’s taking it really hard… I hope it isn’t what he thinks it is,” Meg said as she watched him with a worried look on her face. “If Lil found out she would kill him.”

Cass breathed another heavy sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. “I’m sure it isn’t what he thinks… That’s why I told him to talk to Xavier or Woodlock just to be sure, I dread to think how she would react after seeing her this morning with Felspar, she is very different to how I imagined her.”

Meg shrugged. “I can’t say I blame her for lashing out, I don’t think she’s usually like that she just reached breaking point… If I was her I probably would have wracked that guy with a frying pan.”

“Yeah, I guess I would to if I had someone hassling me while my dad was suffering,” Cass said.

“Yep… Hopefully, tomorrow will be less dramatic,” Meg said and groaned as she leaned into the sofa and tilted her head back. “I thought it was going to be so quiet and it has been anything but!”

“I hope so to otherwise it is going to be a nightmare,” Cass said as she leaned her head on her hand. “Although I wouldn’t put it past those jerks to stir up something to get me into trouble again.”

Meg sighed as she could see that to but wanted to give her friend some comfort. “If they do I’ll have your back.”

Cass smiled, she had gotten very fond of her even though she had only known her for a couple of days. “Thanks.”

“No problem, you’ve had my back so I’m going to have yours,” Meg replied.

Cass chuckled under her breath, she had heard that phrase a lot, it was something the guys on the guard often said to each other as a sign of comradery, well before they had started getting at each other’s throats. “Yeah, we’ll get through this together.”

It had been a long day for Pete as well, he had exercised more than he had done in a long time since he had started on the guard although he could not remember that anymore, he did not even notice how the spell slowly erased his memories good and bad, he was all their’s. He breathed out heavily as he laid down on the grass and looked up at the darkening sky, his new life seemed to be working out very well for him, he had friends, a lover and a home.

“The wanderer returns.”

Peter turned his head to the left and seen Shadow as he knelt beside him. “What do you want now?”

“Nothing, I had just heard you had a little accident while you were out with Mel one night, hurt your head real bad and gotten amnesia so you have forgotten all about your past,” Shadow said.

“Yeah… I don’t remember much… Um… I’m not even sure how old I am now,” Peter said.

“Wow… You have gone way back, I’m guessing you are somewhere in your twenties or thirties but it’s okay, maybe it’s a good thing you have lost those memories,” Shadow said.

“Really? That’s a chunk of my life gone,” Peter asked.

“From what you have told me it has been nothing but misery and pain, now you have the chance to make a new start, a better life you could have a bright future!”

“It’s just like there is a big fog in my head, I can’t remember what I even did last week,” Peter said as he put a hand over his forehead. “She’s been so sweet with looking after me.”

“Aww, young love,” Shadow said as he chuckled under his breath. “You were smitten as soon as you had seen each other… She does care about you a lot, she was so worried about you when she found you out cold over there.”

“She was?”

“Yeah, you were badly ill from the poison they had put you on, we almost lost you,” Shadow said. “Which would have been tragic as you would have lost your chance to achieve your destiny, make your dad proud.”

Peter sat himself up and stared at him. “You knew my dad? Who was he? What-“

“No, no… I never met your old man but before you had gotten amnesia you had told me what you knew about him… It was very tragic what happened to him,” Shadow stood up and with a wave of his hand created an illusion of his childhood home, there was a young man roughly in his mid to late twenties, he looked quite similar to Pete with light white skin, long oval-shaped face, freckles under the eyes and on his curved nose, he was also very thin to.

“That was one hard-working man like you he was a Royal Guard, often worked double sometimes triple shifts to bring bread to the table,” Shadow said as they watched him return home. He yawned and stretched his stiff back, he had the armour off but still wore the red shirt and black vest. “He had never shown how beaten down and tired he really was, he forced himself to keep strong for you ever since your mother had passed away.”

The scene changed to a room in the small house, he had sat on a wooden hair and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Dad!” A small voice called out which was Peter when he was a child, about seven or eight.

“Hey, Peter, what have you been up to you today?” His dad said as he sat himself up and put on a fake smile.

“I did a picture!” Little Peter said as he ran across the room and handed it to him. “Happy Guardian’s Day!”

His dad laughed as he put an arm around him. “Aw, that’s great son, well done!”

Peter giggled as he ruffled his mousy brown hair.

Pete stared at the scene as he had forgotten all about that as well, seeing his father right in front of him made him emotional as well.

“Shame all that hard work was not appreciated by those around him, when he had fallen on hard times they all turned their backs on him,” Shadow said, he waved his hand again and the scene switched to Pete’s dad with the Captain, he had an angry expression on his face as he pointed to the door, his dad walked out alone looking defeated and depressed. “Despite everything he had done no one cared enough to help so he was forced to give you up for adoption,” Shadow narrated as he changed the scene to the night he was dropped off in Old Corona.

“You can't stay with me, Peter… I will come back for you someday, I promise,” his dad said as he knelt in front of him.

“No! Don’t leave me here!” Little Pete cried, he ran after him as he walked away. “Dad, come back!” He was quickly picked up by a young woman and had put up a fight to escape her grasp. “Get off me! Get off! Dad!”

This had hit him hard like a hard punch in the gut once it faded Peter had fallen onto his knees and cried, Shadow showed him growing up from a small child to a teenager sitting on the window cill looking over the front garden. 

“For years you sat at that window waiting for the day your daddy will return and take you back home but he never got to fulfil that promise, he tried very hard to get his himself back together but it did not work out,” Shadow said.

“W-What happened to him?” Peter asked.

Shadow breathed a heavy sigh and shook his head, he had taken advantage of his memory loss as he had gotten creative and twisted the ending to vilify the guards even more. “He got strung up, all for a crime he did not even commit, a murder, now they are trying to do the same with you,” he pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his jacket pocket and handed it over, it was one of the new Wanted posters of him.

Pete’s eyes widened in horror as he looked down at it, his jaw dropped slightly, it was true what Mel had told him earlier, they did think he was a killer, the Hate Potion had kicked in again now he had another thing to be angry about. He scrunched the poster as he clenched his hand into a fist and glared darkly into space. He was sure now there was no going back, he would not let them hurt him like they had hurt his dad.

“They are the enemy, they have been afraid of you since you had shown your true colours, someday soon you will achieve your destiny of becoming the dragon warrior, it was his dream but he did not get the chance to fulfil that either,” Shadow said as he gestured to the sky then bent down so he was close to his ear, he smirked as he knew he had him. “Make him proud.”

Peter looked up at the stars and seen the dragon constellation again which had made him feel stronger and the thought of making his dad happy after everything he had suffered, he was going to make his dream come true.

After supper it soon came the time to hit the hay, David had gone up, Cass got into her pyjamas and came down to help Meg settle in.

“Here’s a blanket and pillow,” she said as she handed them to her.

“Thank you… It’s nice to sleep under a roof for a change, been years since I last had a blanket to,” Meg said as she had taken them from her. She put a hand over her face as she yawned, she was exhausted, she looked back at her friend with a small smile. “Good night.”

Cass smiled and nodded. “Night, don’t worry no one can get you here.”

Meg nodded, she felt much safer in a house with her than back in Saison, she liked it but unfortunately, it had just gotten a bad snake infestation, her ex being the biggest one of the lot. Once Cass was gone, Meg laid down on the sofa, wrapped herself in the blanket and drifted off to sleep. It was peaceful and dreamless at first but then her imagination got the better of her.

“Meg.” An eerie voice whispered. “Meg.”

She stirred, hearing that voice made her sick to her stomach but it got worse as she had seen him sliver up to her, his hands on her waist. “My little flower, my little nutmeg… You can’t get away from me, I’ll find you,” he whispered and kissed her neck. “I’ll find you if I have to burn down all of Corona.”

Next thing she had seen was the high street set in a blaze, people running and screaming, some of them had been hit with the flames as well. She had seen some of the guards howling in pain and crumpled heaps on the ground cradling their arm, looking at their leg in horror, she was in Cassandra’s home alone. She heard the door open and there he was. “There’s my little nutmeg.”

She wanted to run but she was stuck, with a flick of the damn wand he had frozen her, she tried to scream but her voice was trapped just like she was.

“I told you, you can’t get away from me… No matter where you go, I will always be there in the shadows.”

Meg did not even realise she was doing it but in real life, she was crying and screaming, she had shaken so much she had fallen off the sofa, she was so wrapped up in her nightmare she had not even noticed Cass and David as they rushed down and knelt beside her.

“Meg, Meg,” Cass said in a hushed tone as she gently nudged her. “Breathe Meg!”

“Megan, it’s okay… It’s just me, David and Cass,” David said as he watched Cass rub her arm but that just seemed to scare her more as she drew it back.

“I think she’s having a nightmare about Shadow… He had hurt her a lot, she’s scared he’s going to take her again,” Cass said.

It had taken a while but Meg eventually came around, she slowly sat herself up looked at the two of them and had broken down, she put her arms around her legs and started rocking.

“He’s going to kill me! He’s going to kill me!”

Cass sighed as she put a gentle hand on her knee and looked Meg in the eyes. “No, Meg… Shadow is not going to kill you, Eugene and I will make sure he does not get anywhere near you.”

Meg had fallen quiet but continued to rock.

David looked at the young woman with a concerned and saddened look on his face, he had known domestic violence was a thing that sadly happened quite a lot in Corona, just like the other seven kingdoms, some of his men were abusers and he did not even know it, behind closed doors they punished their wives for embarrassing them or any reason they made them unhappy. He dreaded to think of all the horrid things her ex had put her through, he sighed and tried to give her some comfort. “It’s alright Megan… You’re safe with us.”

Meg looked at him with tears streamed down her face. “I’m scared.” Her dog rushed over to her and rested his little head on her lap, she glanced at him and stroked the back of his head.

“I know, it’s understandable, I’m not going to ask what he had done to you… I can see how painful it is, would you like some tea?” David asked.

Meg shakily nodded, tea sounded nice.

“Alright,” David said as he had gotten up and walked out, Cass stayed by her side and comforted her as she gently rubbed her arm.

“I won’t let him or any of his buddies hurt you, Meg, I’ll do all I can to keep you safe.”

Meg nodded as she leaned on Cassandra’s shoulder, it had been a long time since she had been helped like this, she thought she would never get this kind of genuine kindness again after she lost her best friend, she was so glad to have someone like Cass to help her through this nightmare.


	36. Warning Signs

Peter had a late-night run, running was something he often did to let off some steam, it was one form of exercise he actually enjoyed as it was easy and he could go at his own pace. He panted heavily as he leaned against a tree, the front of his head was throbbing, he was tired from all the training and the information dump, those illusions of him as a child crying out for his dad and seeing the Wanted poster. He was having another dizzy spell as he felt weak at the knees and a bit light-headed, the Hate Potion and the Oblivate charm did not work well together.

“There you are, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Peter turned around and seen Mel, he gulped, he remembered their first date at the Poisoned Apple, they had gotten very drunk and carried away. “Mel… I-“

“It’s okay, you don’t have to stay in the tower all the time and you like running, just be careful okay? There are some very toxic people out there,” Mel said as she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“I know… Shadow told me everything,” Pete replied and breathed a heavy sigh. “They killed my father.”

“I know, they are the real villains here… They treat us little people like dirt, they killed my mother to,” Mel said as she looked him in the eyes. “She got blamed for a murder… You’re very brave to be fighting against them.”

“I’m not going to be pushed around anymore… They will pay for everything they had done!” Pete growled as he looked down at the ground.

“I know, you are very brave,” Mel said and put on a little smile. “You’ll get your strength back with a bit of work,” she leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I believe in you.”

Pete sighed again, every time she did that he got butterflies in his stomach, it was strange how it was her of all people who got past all the hate and rage he was going through but unlike last time he felt uncomfortable with the love-bombing as she leaned her forehead against his, he would have moved away if his back was not against a tree. She pulled him into a kiss, he really did like her but there was just something that did not feel right. “Mel… I- I think we’re going too quick… I’m not ready to, you know… We've only known each other for a few days-”

“It’s alright,” Mel said and put on a fake smile. “I understand you have been through a lot and not feeling so good… Let’s go back to the tower and you can rest up,” she moved her shoulders and held his hand, he sighed as he walked alongside her, there was a part of him that still felt a bit on edge. “You’ll feel better once you’ve taken your medication.”

“Really? I feel really bad right now.”

“Well, you don’t take medicine when you are well, do you? It won’t bring your memories back but it will heal your headache and help you sleep,” Mel replied as she looked up at him with a slight smile. “Trust me, Peter, I wouldn’t do anything to harm you.”

“I do trust you and Shadow even though he can be a bit pushy… You had saved my life after all,” Peter said as he looked back at her with a pained expression on his face, she could tell he was thinking of the illusions Shadow had shown him to “refresh” some of his memory.

Cass had eventually gotten to sleep and although she did not experience any night terrors, she was still plagued with the nightmares of Zhan Tiri.

“Cassandra, Cassandra,” she whispered. “You can run, you can hide but you can’t change anything, no one sees you as nothing but a monster.”

“I’m not a monster,” Cass mumbled as she buried her face in her pillow.

“Yes, you are.”

She groaned as she twisted again, she wished there was something that could stop her from having these nightmares.

“No one wants you, who could ever love you? Against the Sun-Drop Princess You are nothing,” Zhan Tiri continued to taunt her.

“Shut up!”

Zhan Tiri laughed loud in her face. “Aww, cute you think I will take orders from you!”

Cass growled as she gripped a handful of her bedsheet.

“I’ll be watching you, Cassandra, even though I’m not in the world I’ll always be there watching you… It will be fun to watch Corona burn to ashes, you have gotten so weak you don’t stand a chance against Shadow unlike me he is not alone,” Zhan Tiri said, she then disappeared and the scene changed. It looked like the Old Corona wood, there was ablaze, she could only watch as the flames hungrily consumed trees, wrapping itself around the bark and branches. Woodland creatures running for their lives, in the midst of all the chaos she had seen a beautiful red and gold flower emerge from the damaged ground. The Phoenix Flower, it was going to be in Old Corona, the only thing in the world that can save Stan from an early grave. It seemed to work in the reverse way of the Sun-Drop and Moon Stone, the darkness came before the light. She marvelled at its bright glow until she had seen a silhouetted figure between a pair of burning trees, it soon became clear as he had drawn near. He looked so different, she almost did not recognise him, his hair was a dark red, he had a nasty looking scar over his right eye, there were a couple on his arms as well like her his skin had gotten more pale than normal.

“Pete?”

He did not reply, he just stared at her, it was like he did not even know her, she did not have much of a chance to talk as she had to jump back to avoid being burnt again as a large flame erupted from the ground. She glanced at Pete and seen a small flame in his hand, how was that even possible?

“Pete, stop!” She called out but still kept her distance, she coughed, the smoke was getting into her chest, why did it have to be fire? She would much rather have dealt with the rocks again. Why couldn’t it have been ice and snow like Queen Elsa? After another look at him, she figured out he was after the Phoenix Flower as well as he moved towards it.

“Pete, no! Stan needs that flower, he has been seriously hurt and is now dying!” She cried as she put her fears aside and dashed towards him, she was knocked back by another blast, it was very close this time. Just when she was about to get back up someone grabbed her from behind, he was very strong, more than most of the guard, she tried to fight him but by the time she got out of his grasp, it was too late… The flower was gone. She had just told him his best friend was dying and he just took it, he did not even listen to her, was he so blind by his hate that he was going to leave his best friend to suffer? How could he betray him like that? Cass sighed she felt like she had no room to talk about betrayal, not only with Rapunzel but Eugene, Varian and her dad.

She groaned as she heard Zhan Tiri’s creepy laugh again. “Oh, you stupid woman! You had been beaten by him, of all people! Maybe I should have chosen him instead he has worked so well for Shadow… He is so obedient like a good dog, never questioned him or turned away, never mind, it will be fun to see how this plays out.”

Cass stared off into space, she had a late-night which was interrupted with Meg’s night terrors but she could understand why she had that. She had been in a very dark place, she had been a toxic relationship with The Shadow Man, unlike her with Andrew she was not able to see the signs that he had ulterior motives until later, it almost killed her. Saying he was a jerk would be a big understatement, she dreaded to think of what he was doing to Pete. She sighed as she pulled her knees up and rested her head on them as she wondered what why was he going after the flower? Especially since he will already have the stone? Was that for The Shadow Man or one of the other serpents? She guessed the two together would not work out well after seeing what happened when the Sun-Drop and The Moon Stone were put together.

“Whoo, whoo,” Owl hooted and swooped down beside her, Cass sighed as she stroked the back of his head. The night passed quicker than she thought as she had seen the sunlight through her white curtains, she guessed it was six or in the morning.

Owl moved off her lap and perched on the foot of her bed, Cass reluctantly got up and headed downstairs.

“Morning Meg, how are you?”

Meg breathed a heavy sigh as she ran a hand through her hair. “I feel awful… I sometimes do have nightmares about him but I’ve been having night terrors since I had seen him in Saison, I’ve been so on edge, constantly looking over my shoulder,” she put a hand over her mouth and yawned.

“I know the feeling, the day after I came back from the dungeons I was very jumpy, I had a bad feeling another group of guards were going to charge in and arrest me while I was having my breakfast again,” Cass said. “I still feel anxious around them… Which is strange for me, I have never feared them before… I once knocked four men out in a fight with little effort.”

“Wow… Why were you fighting them?” Meg asked.

“They were high on the Mood potion, they had all started fighting each other randomly and that was the only way I could break it up, I also fought my dad as well… I spanked him with the hilt of my sword,” Cass said and chuckled under breath as she thought back on that day, it was the only time she would have gotten away with that. She thought it was strange how it made Frederic absolutely furious and her dad act like a hyperactive little boy, she guessed he was a big kid at heart but was forced to grow up quickly by his strict father then years on being a guard made him bury it.

Meg’s eyes widened and she put a hand over her mouth as she giggled, that sounded like a very eventful day, she could not believe she had just done that. “Oh my God… You did that to your dad?”

Cass nodded. “Yeah haha!”

Meanwhile, Frederic had been doing some digging where he was not supposed to with Rapunzel’s journal which she had just completed, he had taken it while she was out and brought it to the study where he met with Rob as he had heard of Rapunzel’s plans to go into town and likely visit Cass. The guard picked it up and flipped through the last few pages had illustrations and notes from what she had heard from Eugene and other people, there were angry looking guards. Flacons with different coloured liquids green one being Sleeping Death and the red one being The Hate Potion, there was a doodle of Frederic shouting, David and Cass crying. On the next page, there was Pete, he looked demonic with bright red eyes and towered over Varian, this made him look even more suspicious, he did not realise this was mind control, he thought she had done it to show him turning evil. She was getting involved with the Hayes case to, she had done a page on the little racoon Ruddiger on a rainbow bridge with the caption ‘Ruddiger, died a hero saving his human friend.’

Rob rolled his eyes, everything going on and she worried about a rodent? “Okay, so you still want to tighten security around the Princess?”

Frederic nodded. “Yes, just in case Hayes decides to strike or Espinosa tries something… I don’t trust her but try to be more discreet this time.”

Robert’s armour clanged as he bowed to him. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Cass and Meg got to work finishing up another shop that had just been rebuilt, although they were half asleep they tried their best to focus, they were relieved to have one of the more pleasant guards with them Will and Bob, they greeted them and left them to it, just watched quietly through the window now and again Jack had sat outside with them and happily watched the world go by. 

Rapunzel could not get to the town quick enough she was desperate to get out of the castle grounds, she thought she finally had the freedom to roam but she had already seen Rob. She had noticed John sneaking round in the library and an alleyway. She sighed as she had seen two more guards at the shop Cass was working in.“I should have known it was too good to be true Pascal.” 

Cass sighed as she glanced through the window, she wondered how Varian was doing, he said he would keep a lookout for the flower in Old Corona and wanted to try and make something to help Stan get outside safely, she sighed then glanced at Meg.“Are you okay?” 

“Yeah… I’m fine,” Meg replied as she dropped the tin in the corner.

Cass nodded although she could see it was a white lie she was not going to try to press her for more answers. There were things she did not feel comfortable with talking to people about. It was quiet between the women most of the time, they were still tired and under the weather.

Will and Bob glanced at each other as they knew the King prohibited Rapunzel to see Cassandra but they thought they would let it slide this one time. They were one of the few who turned a blind eye when she sneaked into the dungeons.

“Cass!”

The pair of them jumped and turned to the door and seen Rapunzel at the door before they had a chance to speak she pulled her into a hug.

“What brings you here?” Cass asked. “Don’t you have a long list of Princess things to do?”

Raps shook her head. “Not a lot, it doesn’t look like we’re going to have guests for a long time... I had another fight with my dad a couple of days ago, I was angry with him for taking down the Missing posters for Pete and telling everyone he is a murderer! How is Eugene supposed to convince him to come back now?”

Cass sighed and shrugged, she was not sure what to do about it either. “He isn’t even going to give him a trial... Trouble is how are you going to prove his innocence? There aren’t any witnesses.”

“Eugene and one of the guards can talk to him, he might have not even seen Daniel that night!” Raps cried.

“Probably but that wasn’t enough for me alone,” Cass said. “You need hard evidence that shows beyond any reasonable doubt that Pete did not kill him.”

Rapunzel sighed, she was going to cite an onus procedendi for Cass to prove she did not attack a guard which was easier with David but Pete had no one who could speak for him or verify an alibi. “This is just awful... I hoped once we caught George everything would be okay.”

“Yeah... Nothing is ever simple Raps,” Cass said.

There was a moment of awkward silence Cass turned and got back to work. “What are you planning to do today Raps?”

Rapunzel glanced at the table where there were large bushes. “I’m going to help with the decorating! I didn’t do much last time and I want to be more useful to the people.”

“You sure Papa Bear would be alright with that?” Meg asked as she gestured to the window where Rob was arguing with Bob.

“No but doesn’t matter what he thinks, I don’t have to run everything by him,” Rapunzel replied and picked up a brush. “Are you Eugene’s friend Meg?”

Meg nodded. “Yep, I’ve known that tinker for a long time... Glad to see things have worked out so well for him.”

“Yeah... I’m sure things will get better for you to,” Rapunzel said and smiled. “I’m glad you to have made friends.”

“Yeah... Cass has been great, giving me shelter and food,” Meg said as she stretched her arm across.

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Raps said as she smiled at Cass. “You’re doing so well, this shop is looking better already!”

“Thanks, Raps... This is supposed to be my punishment so it’s not meant to be fun but it hasn’t been as bad as I thought,” Cass said and shrugged.

“Eugene and I thought it would be better to try and get you back on track with helping the community rather than keep you in the dungeons for a few more months,” Raps said.

Cass nodded, she knew even though she was not going to be thanked by the locals for her help she much preferred this option she turned her attention back to the wall, she was grateful to her friends for getting her free although it was limited at the moment. “Yeah… Soon be done then I really will be free.”

Rapunzel turned and seen more tins of paint in a range of colours, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. “Wow, that is a lot of paint.”

“It’s a toy shop, the owner wants us to paint rainbows on the walls and a sun, to make it look like a fun place,” Cass said.

At that Rap’s face lit up, she loved painting pictures, she grabbed a brush and painted the other end of the red arch. “Oh, you know what would go great with rainbows?”

“Those little birds you do?” Cass asked.

“Butterflies, you know like the phrase butterflies and rainbows?” Raps said and swiftly painted a pair of butterfly wings then the body and antennas. 

Cass smiled, she was happy to see her again, she knew this was not going to be a regular thing… She could see her dad locking her in the castle again when he heard she had gone into town just to see her. “Yeah, he would probably like that.”

Raps put on a small smile as she glanced back at her. “I hope it hasn’t been too bad with the people.”

Cass shrugged. “Surprisingly, it has been alright… No one shouted out at me or called me any names but there is still tension in the air, I don’t see it going down anytime soon especially now Pete has fallen into the same kind of trap I had done… Funny, I had just gotten out of one and he goes into it right after me.”

Rapunzel sighed as she bowed her head. “I’m glad no one has picked on you but I’m still worried about you and Pete… What he’s going to do when he comes back.”

Cass nodded. “I know but I’m sure we can handle it… Varian is on the case with Project Obsidian, hopefully, we’ll get Stan back in action to.”

“How? Everyone said the damage to his brain from the potion is incurable,” Raps asked.

“There is a glimmer of hope for him with the Phoenix flower,” Cass said.

“Phoenix Flower?… Is that like the Sun Drop?” Raps asked.

“Yeah… It is very similar just grows differently… I have to wait for there to be a fire in Old Corona woods but there is a catch,” Cass replied.

Rapunzel put her brush down for a moment and looked at her, she did not like the sound of that. “What is it?”

“I have to get it before Pete does,” Cass said.

Rapunzel looked at her with a puzzled expression. “What? Why would Pete be after the Phoenix Flower? How do you know that?”

“I had a vision last night, he was like me when I had the moonstone… His hair was bright red, he had the ability to make flames come out of his hands without burning himself… I was very close to it but when he threw flames at me I was stuck, by the time I got up again he and the flower were gone,” Cass replied and breathed a heavy sigh. “As if things were not hard enough with those guys watching me like a hawk!”

“Oh… That’s scary, I hope you do get it… I guess you are right, there is a demon who has taken Pete in and now manipulating him to take the Phoenix Flower,” Raps said.

Cass nodded. “Although he’s not a demon per se, he is just as bad… Like Zhan Tiri he caught him when he was at his lowest and put him in a worse state than he already was when he ran away, I hope they will come to understand that he was not in control of his actions being drugged most of the time but sadly I doubt it.”

Rapunzel sighed as she figured her friend was speaking from personal experience. “I hope so to… Better still end it before it gets too far… Eugene has searched everywhere he could think of and still no sign of him, he even tried questioning George but did not get many answers out of him either.”

Cass sighed, she was getting tired of talking about Pete, even when he was not around he still came up so many times, she guessed this was how he felt when she was away and in the dungeons before he was let off, every day she found herself thinking and talking about him and so did people around her. She remembered how frustrated her dad had gotten after so many unsuccessful searches, he had searched all over the island but evidently missed a spot, she knew Eugene would be the same. It was then she got an idea. “Have they considered looking into towers?”

Raps raised an eyebrow as she turned to her. “Oh, very funny.”

“I’m serious… I mean they have tried the town, the woods and Mount Saison, he must be somewhere that is far out from here and sheltered by The Shadow Man, I imagine he had a few close shaves while he was out in the wilderness,” Cass said.

Rapunzel’s eyes widened, now she saw what she meant as she thought back on her life in a single tower with Gothel. “Good point… I’ll suggest that to Eugene later, I haven’t seen any other towers apart from… The one I was in.”

Cass shrugged. “You never know.”

David had about an hour to go before he was due to care for Stan again, he had decided to take Cassandra’s advice and consult an expert on potions so at least he would be able to sleep without the pain of guilt and fear taunting him, he had taken a deep breath as he prepared himself to approach the potions Professor in the local cafe, he thought it was odd how he spun the spoon just by hovering his hand over it.

“Is something wrong sir?” Woodlock asked as he looked at him from over the book he held with his left hand.

David gulped as he felt a knot in his stomach, the anxiety was driving him into despair just like when Cass was taken away. “Mr Woodlock… Um… There’s a problem with Stan, he had suddenly become paralysed two days ago… Is that supposed to happen?” David asked in a hushed tone as he hoped no one would overhear.

Woodlock raised an eyebrow. “It is very unusual for him to lose his mobility this quickly but I suppose that corrupt guard had mixed the forgetfulness potion with a very strong serum that caused that problem… I would normally give him an antidote but since the potion has been disposed of I have no way of knowing for sure what he has been put on which could risk causing further harm.”

David breathed a heavy sigh as he rubbed his temple. “I understand that… The doctor has given him some medication to help keep him awake longer and pain killers for the headaches, which I had also done… You don’t reckon that would have speeded up the damage to his brain would it?”

Woodlock stared at him for a moment then sighed and glanced at the table. “Again, we can’t tell exactly what is going to happen as anything could have been thrown into that concoction but I’m sure that pain killers will not cause any further damage to his brain… Didn’t Xavier give you a pain killer potion for your hip?”

David nodded. “Yes… I know it’s not a good idea to share out medication but he was just in so much pain, he said he felt like his head had been bashed against a wall.”

Woodlock sighed. “Yes, it can be risky but in this case it’s fine… Just be careful you don’t overdo it.”

David breathed a sigh of relief, he felt like a tonne of weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Thank you… I was so afraid that I had hurt him.”

“It’s quite alright… Also, look out for any warning signs like shaking, face falling on one side, slurred speech, keep track of his pulse when he is unconscious, check his breathing,” Woodlock said. “Any more problems you can come to me or his doctor.”

David nodded, he did not know what they could do to help but agreed anyway, he was surprised to have found him so easily. “Where can I find you?”

“I’m staying in the Sunset Inn until this matter with the Serpents is over,” Woodlock replied. “I have a hunch Peter has gotten himself muddled with them.”

“Serpents?” David asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Woodlock had taken a sip of his coffee and breathed another heavy sigh. “They are a group of dark wizards and witches, some were students of mine... One was my daughter.”

David’s eyes widened slightly, he had not expected that although he felt sympathetic to him as his daughter had gone down a dark path, he knew how fortunate he was to get her back in the end. Judging by the solemn expression on his face he was not so lucky. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Woodlock stared at him for a moment then shook his head. “Oh, no, no... She’s not dead, Melonie is alive but in a way I have lost her, I tried to stop her but she would not listen to me.”

David nodded. “I had the same problem with my daughter, we got into a big fight but we have made up now.”

Woodlock shook his head. “I’m afraid there is no going back for us... She was not my flesh and blood but I had always thought of her as though she was. I searched tirelessly in search for Melanie, to get her away from The Shadow Man when I did she attacked me, we duelled and she ran away with him.”

“Melonie! This has to stop now!” He yelled as he pointed his wand out at her. “Why have you turned your back on me?”

Mel snarled as she pointed her wand at him like it was a sword which made him back away. “How dare you ask me that! You had uprooted me from my home and raised me with a lie!”

Woodlock frowned as that hurt like a hard kick in the gut. “I only did what I thought was best-“

Mel rolled her eyes. “Oh please, you only did what was best for yourself, you could have stopped the guards from taking my real mother away but you were the one who brought them in the first place!”

“She was dangerous! She was toxic, she killed your father!” Woodlock yelled.

“Shut up!” Mel yelled. “Flipendo!”

Woodlock was knocked onto his back a few metres away from her, he got up and stared her down. “I command you to surrender!”

Mel glared at him. “Never... Petrificus totalus!”

Within seconds he had fallen on the ground and watched helplessly as she ran away with Shadow.

David sighed, he could understand how he felt as he had been there himself a while ago. “Maybe there is still a chance to reconcile with her.”

Woodlock just frowned and shook his head. “No... She is too far gone now, she even changed her name to cover her tracks like Zhan Tiri she has gone on a ridiculous quest for power… To be the strongest witch in the world.”

“I see... I’m just confused about how Pete comes into it, I’ve never known him to have magical abilities,” David said. 

Woodlock breathed a heavy sigh again as he stared at his coffee which had gotten chilly. “They often use none magical people to do their bidding where they are restricted or to keep their butts clean… He reminds me of another man who had found himself in this situation and came across much more misfortune than he had beforehand.”

David raised an eyebrow in curiosity, he was glad there was someone who could make sense of all this madness. “Who was that?”

Woodlock leaned back in his chair and looked at him with a saddened expression it looked as though it pained him to think about it. “Nicholas, I believe his name was… It appeared he had fallen on hard times which is always when The Shadow Man draws people in, he uses coercive control to keep them by his side for as long as he needs them.”

David felt his heart sink as he realised it was “Uncle Nick,” he remembered how devastated he when he overheard the fight between him and his father then see him leave the castle for the last time, even more so when the news went around that he had taken his own life. He had seen the same pattern of behaviour with Pete which made him worry about him even more than he had done previously. “What does he do with them when they are no longer of use to him?”

Woodlock closed his eyes and gulped then stared off into space. “He kills them… Nicholas thought he could stop him, I had warned him that he would also kill his son out of spite so he had taken him to the orphanage, he had hoped he would then get the chance to clear his name and take him back but Shadow had killed him within seconds with the killing curse.” His voice trailed off as he had a flashback of the moment he had given the fatal blow, Nick had gone to strike him with a sword but before he could have gotten anywhere near him Shadow had pointed his wand straight at him and said coldly. “Avada kedavra.”

There was a blast of green light that struck him in the chest, he was dead before he even hit the ground.

“Oh, that’s awful… We thought he had taken his own life,” David said, his eyes widened as he put a hand over his mouth. “The men said his body was found in the river.”

Woodlock nodded. “He is very good at covering his tracks… He would have made it appear to be suicide so no one would suspect him, I imagine he would have made a creative twist and tell Peter that he had either killed himself or was executed unjustly by the guard.”

David did not reply right away, he was taken back by what he had just heard, he felt scared for his former worker, he was in more danger right now than he had ever been in his life, he was out there with a person who was raising him like a pig for slaughter and so far out the guards would not likely find him until it was too late. He facepalmed, he wished he had stepped in sooner, he had shown all the warning signs, the one person he believed could have saved him was out of action, so he could only hope that Eugene somehow got through to him and save him from this dangerous trap.


	37. Bittersweet Memories

“Remember when we were birds for a day Cass and we went flying everywhere, that was so amazing!” Raps laughed as she painted a little bird on the wall, it had been a while since she had last done that.

“Oh yeah… I was so scared at first but then I kind of enjoyed it,” Cass said as she watched her, she chuckled under her breath and shook her head, her smile faded as she thought on the downsides of that day. “Those people were really creepy, I hope no one else falls for that trap… Can’t believe you used the last egg on me, I dread to think what would have happened if I returned you in bird form.”

“Well, we would have needed you to guide us back to Corona and people do crazy things for the people they love,” Rapunzel replied, she looked at Cass with a warm smile.

Cass felt her heart warm up, Rapunzel loved her even after everything she had done she still thought of her as a great friend, she nodded. “Yeah, they certainly do… Sometimes they do crazy things for people they don’t love.”

“You were birds? Actual birds?” Meg asked as she furrowed her brow, although she had seen it before with Raven but did not expect that to happen to them.

“Yeah, it happened while we were away on the search for a way to fix the rock issue… We had a lot of adventures along the way,” Cass said and sighed as that was the time she had gone off the rails, she wondered if Zhan Tiri had overheard her singing to herself that night she was left alone in the tomb with the sculptures of soldiers and horses, she had illusions there as well, they looked like ghosts, she had even seen herself in guard uniform on a horse ready to charge but was cut off before she could have gotten started.

“I’m sure you did, I had as well when… I had looked for a new home, gotten myself into a right muddle,” Meg said as she shook her head as she thought back on the day she met Shadow and was brought into the Serpents, she had a theory there was a parallel happening with Pete and Mel even though she had never known him but from what she had heard from Cass she could see some similarities.

“You looked sweet as a little bird Cass… Not that I mean you don’t look good as a human, I much prefer you as a person!” Rapunzel said breaking the awkward silence.

“It’s okay Raps, I know what you mean, you were a cute little bird… First time I had seen one with flowing blonde hair… It was weird how we still had our hair in bird form, guess that was to make us unique to those bird obsessed creeps,” Cass said.

The more Meg heard about this the more puzzled she was, it did sound very strange that they turned into birds with hair. “What happened?”

Cass and Raps looked at each other for a moment then got started with telling her about that day.

“We were out in the woods somewhere, one of the caravan wheels had broken, the guys were going to try and fix it but got distracted,” Raps said.

“Yeah… It had somehow gotten into a contest on how has the biggest muscles, we went off on a walk and came across this strange couple who had an odd-looking house, they were outside with a table big enough to seat five people but they were there alone… They had given us a tea that turned us into birds, well they said it was tea but it was more likely a potion that somehow turned you into one,” Cass said.

Meg raised an eyebrow as she glanced at her.

“They said we had an hour to fly around and live as a bird, we had to use the blue peacock’s egg to change back into a human otherwise we would be stuck as birds forever… We had so much fun we had lost track of time,” Raps said.

Cass sighed as she pulled her brush down. “The guys came looking for us but they had fallen for the same trick, they preyed on travellers for their weird bird collection which is really screwed up when you think about it.”

“Yeah, they had put us in cages with their other victims… We had broken out and got them back to normal, by the time we finished that we ran out of eggs, I picked it up and cracked it over Cass while she was not looking otherwise she would have tried to stop me,” Raps said.

Cass shook her head. “Just my luck to have worked with the most reckless Princess in the world, you were so lucky another egg appeared just after that!”

Raps shrugged. “I know but that was a risk I was willing to take for your sake.”

Cass and Raps paused and just smiled at each other as they were at a loss for words, it was not every day you and your best friend got turned into animals, out of everything they had done that was the most strange, it sounded more like a dream than something that had actually happened.

Meg smiled as seeing them like brought back some bittersweet memories of her younger self and her best friend from the orphanage who was sadly no longer amongst the living, she breathed a heavy sigh as she had missed her so much even though it had been a long time since they had last spoken. They had been released from the orphanage, they were so lost and alone in the wilderness, she found her in the Old Corona woodland in the middle of a bridge and stared down at the river as it flowed underneath. Natalie, she was quite tall, pale, she had dark brown hair that was cut off just above the shoulders like Rapunzel, she wore a plain grey dress like most girls there.

“Natalie, are you okay?” Meg asked in a hushed voice as she approached her, she hoped she was not going to do what she feared.

“Why don’t you just give up on me Meg? I’ll just hold you back,” Natalie said.

“No, Natalie, no… Don’t you know that when you first came it was a month before I heard you laugh for the first time?” Meg asked.

Natalie just looked at her blankly as she failed to see where she was going with it, she sighed as Meg put a hand on her shoulder.

“That first laugh was so great because it was like seeing you, the real you for the first time,” Meg said. “That is the Natalie I became best friends with and no matter what I am never going to give up on you.”

At that moment Natalie had thrown herself onto Meg and cried. “Meg! I’m so, so sorry for everything.”

“It’s okay, I’m here now… What happens in the orphanage stays there, now we have a chance to start over,” Meg replied. “Us lost puppies have to stick together!”

Natalie moved off her back and laughed at that, she guessed they were like puppies either unwanted or their parents could no longer keep them.

Meg shook her head as she tried to snap herself back to reality before she started crying, she told herself that this was not the time or place for having an emotional breakdown, she scolded herself that was a grown woman not a little girl for goodness sake.

“Meg, are you okay?”

She paused when she had heard the Princess’ voice, she still could not believe she was this close to Her Royal Highness Princess Rapunzel, if she had not already heard she would not have even thought this young woman was the Princess of Corona, she never known them to mingle so much with the commoners. She just sighed and put on a smile. “Yeah… Just got a bit sidetracked, don’t worry Your Highness.”

Raps nodded but she still felt concerned about her. “Oh, you can just call me Rapunzel or Raps.”

Meg’s eyes widened slightly. “Really? Are you sure that’s alright?”

Raps shrugged. “I know it’s not the proper way but unlike my father, I don’t care about titles and stuff, I treat everyone the same, I don’t see myself being better than everyone else just because I’m royalty.”

“Yeah Raps is nothing like the other Princesses, much to her dad’s dismay,” Cass said and sighed as she thought back on the days when she tried to show her the ropes and help her adapt to Royal life, just getting her to wear shoes was a challenge on its own. “You were hard work but we did have some good times.”

Raps smiled as she turned and smiled at her. “We sure did, I have done a whole book on our adventures, I’ll show it to you next time we come here!”

Cass chuckled, she was as optimistic and excitable as ever, she glanced at the guards that stood outside and sighed, she had a feeling her dad was not going to allow her to do that, she would not even be surprised if he had restricted her to the castle grounds again using the excuse of Pete being on the loose and vengeful.

David gulped as he had not seen Lily in the doorway and it was very quiet, he walked up the stairs fearing for the worst. Instead of crying he heard Lily’s voice as she quietly sang to Stan, it was the Remember Me song, he had heard it almost every day, he figured it had a special meaning to them.

“Now it’s time to say goodbye, remember me, try not to cry even though we are islands apart you will always be in my heart, we can sing this little song every day we are apart, remember me while I am away, remember me anytime you feel sad,” she sighed and wiped her tears. 

Stan looked at her, he knew that song, although he was still very weak he quietly sang along with her.

“Know those we love will never go away so until we meet again... Re-member.”

“Me,” Stan sang and for the first time in days smiled.

Lily put on a small smile while tears streamed down her face and she gently rubbed his cheek. It scared her how quickly he had lost his colour, he could barely keep his eyes open, the new medication was not working. She leaned over and kissed his forehead. “Love you, Stanley.”

“I-I love y-you to Lil b-but I’m c-causing to much bother... I’m m-making you cry, y-you c-can’t handle t-this,” Stan stammered as tears poured out from his eyes. Lily tightened her grip on his hand and wiped his tears with the other.

“Stan, Stan, you are not a burden, I promised to be there for you through sickness and in health, I’m going to keep to it,” Lily said. “I just need a bit of help from David so you can be cared for while I’m at work, I wish I could stay here with you but I have no choice.”

Stan continued to cry.

“Hey, it’s okay, everything will turn out fine... You’ll see,” Lily said as she comforted him. She pulled his hand down so he could feel her womb. “Our little one is coming along really well… We’ve got a little fighter.”

For a moment Stan stopped crying and stared at her. “O-Our b-baby.”

“Yeah, just a few more months to go and he or she will be ready,” Lily said and kissed him again, this time he kissed her back, he felt butterflies in his stomach and a warm “fuzzy” feeling as though this was their first kiss.

“L-Love you… B-Both.”

Lily smiled although she felt like there was a knife twisted in her as she thought he might not even see their child but she tried to keep on a brave face. “We love you to.”

Stan smiled back at her even though she looked blurry as there were tears in his eyes but he had noticed his vision deteriorating, it was scary how much damage this potion was able to do in such a short amount of time, it seemed his time would come sooner than they expected.

Lily had given him one more kiss then walked out the room, it pained her to leave him, although she knew he was in good hands, she could not help but fear that any moment could be their last, she breathed a heavy sigh as she opened the door and seen David.

David looked a bit sheepish standing there on the landing opposite her. “Hello, Lily… That’s a nice song.”

Lily nodded. “Someone said a song that is very special to him can help trigger some memories, he still remembers some of the lyrics, his dad sang to him when he was little.”

“That’s great, is he feeling better now?” David asked.

“He is happier now but he still feels bad about this… Needs to be reassured that he’s not a burden,” Lily replied. “The medicines the doctor had given don’t seem to be working very well, he has become very pale to… I’m afraid what is going to happen to him next.”

David sighed, he thought the same thing, his anxiety had gotten the better of him as he felt guilty for making his condition worse even though fortunately it did not, Woodlock had assured him that it is likely to have happened anyway, something else was mixed in with the forgetfulness potion just taken longer to kick in. He dreaded the day Stan would pass away, he hoped the Phoenix flower would appear soon even though for that to happen there would have to be destruction somewhere, opposite to the Sun-Drop. “I know, have you gotten him to eat anything?”

Lily nodded. “Yeah, eventually… Mostly soup.”

“Okay, that’s a good sign… He isn’t… Uh… Feeling like dying does he?” David asked.

Lily was quiet for a while, she was unsure how to respond to that, although she had succeeded in cheering him up this time she could not see him suddenly loving life again while he was being destroyed. “I think he still does but might not talk about it so much now.”

David nodded. “Okay… I hope work goes well for you today, I can only apologise for Felspar’s foolishness,” David said.

Lily groaned as she thought of that guy, she felt like strangling him when he disrupted her at work and the things he said about Pete turning evil like Cassandra. She was not normally that angry but quickly came to breaking point, which she supposed was natural when you had just seen the love of your life crying out in so much pain and being powerless to stop it. “Thank you… I hope things go well today with Stanley to.” She turned and exited the house.

David breathed out a heavy sigh and entered his room. “Hey, Stan how are you feeling?”

“O-Okay… D-Dave,” Stan replied, it was strange hearing him speak with a stammer which had gotten worse over the past few days, he had to try very hard just to string a sentence together.

“That’s good to hear… I heard you singing your dad’s special little song with Lily,” Dave said. He thought back on his youthful days when he was about Varian’s age as he tried to figure out who Stan’s father could have been, he supposed like Nick he was a Royal Guard to and maybe was a friend of his father then it clicked. “His name was Charlie, wasn’t it? He was a guard to?”

Stan blinked and stared into space. “I-I think so… H-He l-looks l-like one in t-that p-picture.”

David glanced over at the picture in Stan's hand, it was a realistic portrait of a man who looked quite similar to him, a thick black moustache, a beard, tanned skin, dark brown eyes, stocky build, he looked like someone who did a lot of bodybuilding as he had big muscular arms, it had some wear and tear but he could still clearly see the sun symbol on the helmet and chest plate. “Yeah, that is the uniform… He sang that song to you often?”

“Y-Yeah… H-He l-liked m-music… H-He was g-good,” Stan said.

David nodded. “Yeah, I do to although I never got to do it much… I once sang to my daughter when she was sick about a chick growing into a bird.”

“T-That s-sounds n-nice,” Stan said as he looked back at him.

David had gone quiet as he tried to remember the lyrics himself, it was a very old lullaby that his mother used, he used to listen in while she was tending to his younger brother, he thought it was funny how it came up now his little chick had grown into a bird and soon the time will come for her to fly the nest. It soon came to him, as he thought back on the day he nursed little Cass when she caught a bug that had taken down half of the guard and other members of the palace staff, he sighed and softly sang. “Little chick in the tree, wondering what you will do, can’t do much but dream of the day and wish with all your might, don’t worry, it’s going to be alright, someday soon your time will come, bird fly away. Take all those dreams and make them all come true, bird fly away, bird fly away.” He had gotten emotional as at the last line as he imagined her riding away on Fidella’s back never knowing when he would see her again.

“W-What’s w-wrong? W-Why are y-you c-crying?”

David sighed as he wiped a tear from his eye. “It’s alright… I was just thinking about my daughter, once she has served her sentence she will be leaving Corona… For good.”

“Oh… S-She is C-C-Cass,” Stan said.

David nodded, it made him a happy to see his ability for recalling names improving even though saying the Princess’ and his daughter’s was still a struggle. “Yeah… She doesn’t feel like she belongs here, she’s very lonely, I wish she didn’t feel the need to leave but I want her to be happy more, they say when you love someone… Like really love them, you let them go.” He facepalmed as he then had a terrible thought that Stan would take it the wrong way.

“O-Oh… T-That’s v-very s-s-sad, h-h-hope s-she has a g-good t-time, f-finds a p-place t-that can m-make her happy,” Stan said.

David breathed a sigh of relief, he did not half put his foot in it sometimes, he put on a small smile and nodded. “Yeah, I hope so to, that’s the one thing she needs more than anything.” He supposed she would visit sometime in the future when things have actually calmed down although then again there was never any peace in the Sunshine Kingdom, always something, yet it sounded like this perfect place like something out of a fairytale book. He could only hope that there will be a “happily ever after” for everyone, that they would not have to wait much longer for the miracle to come to Corona again.

Cass had found herself having a good day for once, she missed Raps, she thought she was not going to see her again for a long time. They had painted a few different shops which were a work in progress and now complete, Cass and Meg returned to the Toy Shop and admired their handiwork, the background was a light baby blue with a big rainbow that went across one and little butterflies, in the corner, there was a large yellow ball that was the sun.

“I can see kids having lots of fun times in here,” Meg said with a chuckle. She thought back on how excited she was when she was first pregnant only to lose it within the first trimester. She breathed a heavy sigh as she put a hand over her empty womb, that was the time his true colours had appeared. She felt so stupid for going out with a guy she hardly knew, as they had only been dating for a few weeks. She thought she should have known better.

“Yeah, it will be so sweet! Stan and his wife have a little one on the way!” Raps said excitedly as she suddenly appeared from one of the shops on the other side of the street. “I wonder if they will have a boy or a girl?”

“Meg? Are you alright?” Cass whispered although she could tell by the saddened expression on her face she was not.

Meg paused and tucked a lock of her mousy brown hair behind her ear as she looked back at her.

“Yeah... Just zoned out there I guess,” Meg said.

“You look very sad,” Raps said then thought it was about what she had just said. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright Princess, honestly,” Meg replied.

“Okay,” Raps said she was going to ask if she was sure it was alright but stopped herself, she learnt from Cass to take hints when someone was not up for talking about something that was upsetting them, she thought it was best to change the subject. She opened her handbag, pulled out three paper bags and handed one each to them. “I got cookies from Attila’s, something to cheer ourselves up since things have been very… Distressing lately.”

“Thanks, Raps, it’s been a long time since I’ve last had a cookie,” Cass said as she smiled at her.

“Your Highness, you shouldn’t waste your money on that low life,“ Rob snarled as he was about to snatch the bag from Cassandra.

“Can it, tin man!” another woman’s voice cut him off, Rob frowned and turned, he snarled as he had seen her again. “By the way did your mother ever tell you it’s rude to snatch?” 

“Oh, it’s you… You still have a job?” Rob narrowed his eyes as he stared her down.

“Yeah, I do... I don’t see the new Captain putting up with that attitude of yours so if I were you I would have a serious think of why you are in that armour in the first place, Stanley joined to protect people from harm, willing to lay down his life like his father had done, what did you sign up for?” Lily said as she glared back at him. “The opportunity to knock people down and get away with it? A way to make yourself look stronger than you actually are?”

Cass, Raps and Meg watched Lily with wide eyes, that was the last thing they expected to happen though they guessed it was too good to be true that they would at least have one peaceful day, they glanced between the two back and forth with the wonder what would happen next.

Rob did not reply, he just glared at her then turned around and left, perhaps to get some ice for that burn.

Cass gasped, she could not believe it, someone who hardly knew her had stood up for her rather than leaving her to it, she guessed Lily had a bone to pick with him anyway for almost getting her fired from her job if he was not a guard she probably would have swung a punch at him as well. She felt touched that someone she had helped earlier returned the favour even though they did not really need to. “Thanks, Mrs Bader.”

Lily turned back to Cass and smiled. “No problem, dear… It’s the least I could do since your risked getting yourself into trouble to help me when I had a nervous breakdown, enjoy your evening ladies.”

“It’s okay Mrs Bader… He was out of line with the way he had talked to you, I hope you have a nice evening to and Stan feels better than he did earlier,” Cass said.

Lily nodded then resumed to her walk home, she went quicker than normal as she was anxious about what kind of state her husband would be in, he seemed to get worse everyday. She could really do without the high and mighty guards, she could not believe that one of them had betrayed the squad like that. Tearing them apart, making Stan so sick he could not save Peter, their friend was isolated from everyone he knew and being manipulated just like Cassandra was. There was not a day that went by when she did not think of him either, she was worried sick but could not do anything but just hope he would come back safely. 

“Wow… I did not see that coming, Eugene will not be happy when he hears about this,” Rapunzel said as she perched on the fountain.

Cass nodded and slightly smirked as the thought of another rotten apple being taken out was satisfying, soon the guard would be back to how it should be with all of them working together to protect the Royals, their country and the people from any harm. “Yeah… I imagine he hasn’t been in a good mood lately considering what he’s dealing with right now.”

“Oh yeah, life is going to be like lemon sherbert when he faces the wrath of Captain Eugene Fitzherbert!” Raps joked and giggled.

Cass laughed as she remembered the day Eugene had told her that very same joke after she just had a nervous breakdown, even when it looked like the world was crumbling down around her, they were always there to reassure her that the world was fine and everything was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woohoo, go Lily! Stan would be so proud of you!  
> Oooh, Mel just wait till you see your father, you're going to be in so much trouble! He's not going to stand by while innocent people get hurt anymore.


	38. Demons

“This just keeps getting better and better doesn’t it?” Meg asked as she chuckled under her breath.

“Yep... The drama never ends, I didn’t expect Lil to show up and stick up for me, not often that happens,” Cass said.

“She’s sweet, I think she’s going to be a great mom,” Raps said as the three of them watched her go.

Cass nodded, she was very different from how she imagined her and like Meg she never made any digs about the things she had done while she had the Moon Stone. “Yeah, she could be... Hopefully, the baby will make it through okay.”

“Yeah, she’s been through such a hard time, she deserves some happiness,” Raps said then looked back at her friend.

“Are you okay?”

Cass paused then nodded. “Yeah, that guy can’t hurt me anymore than Evans did and he’s just made things worse for himself.” She rubbed her arms and looked at the ground, she was not actually okay, even though Zhan Tiri was long gone she was still haunting her in her dreams or in her head when she was awake.

“Cassandra, Cassandra.”

Cass was lost in thought as she had quick visions of the Phoenix flower, Pete uprooting it and her being grabbed from behind, she wondered who that was? The Shadow Man? No, if he could get it himself there would be no need for him to use the former guard. It was likely one of his lackeys although she had no idea who they were. 

“Alright… You know if you ever need any help you can ask me right?” Raps asked.

“Yeah, I know… Thanks, Raps,” Cass replied and put on a fake smile. 

Raps could tell it was fake but thought it was best not to pry in more at that moment, she watched as Cass stared off into space, lost in thought, she turned and seen Will who looked anxiously at the clock as it got close to her strict curfew of four in the afternoon. “I better go back to the castle… I’ll come back as soon as I can,” Raps said.

“Okay, hope your dad isn’t too hard on you,” Cass said.

“I’ll be fine… Although I think he may have to step down soon, he is not doing very well,” Raps replied.

Cass breathed a heavy sigh. “I don’t see him getting off the throne willingly… He will have to be careful though, there’s quite a lot of people who are still angry with him to about the whole rock thing.”

Rapunzel sighed. “Yeah, I know… They feel like they’re not being cared for properly, that’s partly why I came here… To try and make it up to them forbut most of all to see how you’re doing.”

Cass smiled and hugged her. “Thanks, Raps.”

Rapunzel smiled, she was glad she was doing well with her community service and even made a new friend. It was a relief that most of the townspeople had left her alone, she was going to make sure Eugene dealt with Rob. After everything George had done he had gotten tougher. It went so quickly, she wished she could spend more time with her but sadly she doubted it. She wouldn’t put it past her dad to make up a list of Princess duties to keep her busy but more so away from Cass. “See you soon Cass... Any problems you can talk to me or Eugene.”

Cass nodded. “Yeah... More likely be you, Eugene is a bit preoccupied at the moment.”

Raps nodded. “I suppose he is... Hopefully, he will be able to resolve it peacefully.”

“When has it ever been peaceful here? I’ve been starting to think that people just come to Corona for drama,” Cass joked. “One thing after another... We hadn’t even gotten over the final battle with Zhan Tiri and now we’re about to be put through it again.”

Raps sighed and shrugged, although she never said this was one of the times she felt like screaming and banging her head on a wall. “I know... I’m afraid that everyone’s hard work is going to be ruined, I know the reasons why he had run away, despite the rumours I still believe that deep down he is still a good person... Like you.”

Cass nodded, this reminded her of when she attempted to make amends under the guise of her new Lady-In-Waiting. How touched she felt when she said she still had faith in her. She knew the Princess would be one of the few people who still believed in him. Whether it was Eugene, Lily or even her dad she hoped someone would save him from his demons but sadly that seemed unlikely.

Shadow had put Peter through a rough time, they had fought all day and he was pumped up most of the time but at this point was getting tired. He panted heavily as his heart hammered in his chest, the adrenaline was buzzing as though he was fighting a giant ram/squid demon at that moment, he hissed from the pain as he just got scarred in the right arm again. His focus was entirely on him as he tried hard to block him and hit him back just as hard, up, up, down, down, twirl, up, down, up, down, up, down, swirl their swords, Shadow turned and hit upwards, the pattern continued then up twice, down and overhead, Pete had almost gotten another scar on his face. This time he remembered to hold his sword up higher as Shadow bashed against it, there was more travelling, unlike the last few times where they stayed on one side.

Peter growled as he went to stab him at the hip again, Pete the Goofy Guard was dead, he was a completely different person. Four down, two up, Shadow struck overhead, Pete blocked him just in time a second later and he would have gotten another nasty cut, Shadow turned and pushed him back, their swords went up and down as they moved across space.

“Ah, you’re getting much better Dragon Warrior!” He smirked as he hit downwards again, something he had just thought up on the spot after noticing the constellation and he believed it, he was a pro manipulator, someone could tell them their whole life story and he could twist it around to make them believe they heard it from him. In Pete’s case, it was very easy, not only had the King issued Wanted posters calling him a murderer, he had lost his memory so he and Mel could say whatever they liked about his dad, the guard, the Captain or the King as he would not know any better. He went to stab him but Pete dodged it and swirled then hit overhead and pushed him back, he had a few close shaves as they travelled left. Up, up, down, down, backhand, Shadow struck overhead again then down, Pete tried hitting upwards twice, up, up, down, down all the while going round in a circle.

“Has he just been training for three days so far?” Raven asked as he watched from the sidelines with Mel just in case he had another accident.

“Yeah, he can be a fast learner, when he’s free of distractions,” Mel replied, she also smirked slyly as she rested her head on her hand. “All he needed was a clear head.”

Raven looked at her with a raised eyebrow and back at him, he was different to how he was when he had last seen him, not so clumsy or nervous it was like his whole character had been changed. “You used the obliviate charm on him didn’t you?”

“Well, it put him out of his misery and will save us some time from him going on a guilt trip, he doesn't remember his friends from the guard anymore so now won't feel bad about fighting them later,” Mel said.

Raven nodded. “Good thinking.”

Shadow tried to run and Pete chased after him, their swords went up, up and down, down, Pete made him make away they went in a big circle, up, up, down, down, overhead, he held his sword high up as Shadow made three attempts at striking him, he went to stab him in the hip which he blocked so he changed tactics and for the first time, he knocked the sword out of his hand.

“Wow… You’re… Coming along… Really well,” Shadow said as he panted heavily.

Pete did not reply just nodded, he put the sword away and stretched his back again and yawned, he was knackered.

Shadow shrugged, he expected his personality to change again, he was much more moody and quiet, he actually preferred this version of him, less hard work.

“Not much of a talker now is he?” Raven whispered as he came up to him.

Shadow sighed as he crossed his arms and watched Pete try to cool himself down. “Well, he has been through a lot… He is never going to be the same again.”

Pete leaned against a tree and stared off into the distance, he held the crumpled Wanted poster tightly in his hand, determined as he was that night to bring Corona down before it had the chance to rise up again.

“Hey,” Mel whispered as she knelt beside him and put an arm around his shoulders. “You okay? You’ve been very quiet, that’s not like you.”

Pete sighed as he looked down at the ground, he just did not feel like talking much, just get on with it to make himself a stronger fighter. “What’s there to say? My dad is dead… Because of them… They didn’t even give him a chance.”

Mel leaned her head on his shoulder and rubbed his arm. “I know, the world is a cruel, dark place… It finds the smallest bit of sunlight and destroys it.”

The poster crumpled in his hand as he clenched it into a tight fist and bowed his head. “It does... If it weren’t for them, he would still be here… With me… I wouldn’t have ended up in… That place.”

Mel sighed and hugged him tighter. “Yes, you and your dad could have lived happily ever after… Now they are partying, thinking they are off the hook but they will soon see that there is more to come.” She kissed his cheek and stroked his hair. “You’re not alone… I’m here for you.”

“Thanks, Mel,” Peter replied as he lifted his head and kissed her back, she was the one person who warmed his frozen heart, he actually believed she was there to save him from his demons when in reality she was one of them.

"Let's head back to the tower, get some rest, you've had a very rough day," Mel said as she stood herself up, he had started to grow on her since his personality had changed. 

Pete put on a small smile, he felt like hitting the hay after hours of fighting, he got up and walked alongside her all the while holding her hand. 

Shadow leaned against the tree and smirked wickedly as he watched them from a distance, it was amusing to see Mel fuss so much over him, it reminded him of the days when he was with Meg, back then she did not know that just because someone hugs you does not always mean they really love you. 

Cass went to bed hoping to have a peaceful sleep for once but nope, she was to be put into battle with a certain ancient demon hovering over her shoulder. She found herself back in the Old Corona woods, the fire had spread everywhere, it sometimes takes a while for anyone to notice even though it was extremely dangerous she was racing through it. Getting into the woods was one thing but getting out was going to be a challenge in itself, she could not go back the way she had come as that path was blocked by a wall of fire.

“Oh Cassandra, you silly girl, you can’t do anything right can you?” Zhan Tiri’s laughed wickedly. “You are too slow, by the time you find the flower it will be too late.”

“Shut up!” Cass growled even though she knew the little blue ghost girl would not take any notice.

Zhan Tiri continued to laugh as Cass ran as fast as she possibly could further down the path, she found it increasingly hard to breathe as the smoke sneaked into her chest, she could not help but fall into a coughing fit. If her dad or Lily had known she was there they would be in a panic, they would have tried to stop her even Stan would much rather die peacefully than having a young woman like Cassandra risking her life to race Pete to it. She knew she had to be quick before she passed out from smoke inhalation or got burnt, Pete who was the only person who did not appear to be bothered by the fact he was surrounded with flames, well that might be because he was the one who caused it as he had turned himself into a human Roman candle. She had frozen up again as she had seen him emerge from the darkness between a pair of trees as the fire greedily consumed them, it looked like they were going to fall any minute. “Pete!”

He stared at her, his eyes had turned red to, was he mind-controlled? She had taken a careful look unlike what the men had described they weren’t glowing, it was just like when she had the moonstone. She shook her head, went against her instincts to run instead lunged towards at him to stop him from taking the flower but unlike the last time they had fought while he was on the Mood Potion, he had grown stronger and she was weaker. She went to kick him but he dodged and she ended up being the one that got a hard kick in the abdomen.

“Pete! Stop… It’s me, Cass! It’s an emergency, Stan is dying… He is seriously ill!”

She got herself up, she looked at him cautiously, it was hard to tell if he was mind-controlled or not.“AHHH!” She screamed as she got hit with a flame, her arm was being burnt again, she tried to put it out by patting her sleeve, she panted heavily as she felt the immense pain, she could not believe he had just done that. He had burnt her! She glanced up and seen him with the whole flower in his hand as he glared at her for a moment then ran away.

Cass growled, he had defeated her, Pete the goofy guard had got her on the knees and crying in agony, though saying that he was not the same guy she had come to know over the current decade. There were times he did get on her nerves but he had never physically hurt her before, her left arm had only just healed a few weeks ago, she tried to nurse it but it hurt more when she touched it.

“Oooh, need some ice for that burn Cass-An-Dra?” Zhan Tiri teased as she looked at her with a grin bigger than the Cheshire Cat’s.

“Shut up!” Cass hissed as she got herself up, she scanned the area and realised how much worse the fire had become, she had fallen into a coughing fit as more smoke slipped into her chest, making it increasingly difficult to breathe.

“Oh, he is so brutal, he left you to burn to death!” Zhan Tiri teased. “Unlike you, he is not going to be all sentimental, Shadow had chosen well… His mind is completely clear of any emotion.”

She tried to put the agony aside and get out of there but she was surrounded by fire, he had blocked the only possible path left, her heart was hitting her hard, she felt like her lungs filled up with smoke.

She coughed a few times, taken a shaky deep breath and yelled. “Help! H-Help!”

“It’s no use… No one can hear you… Foolish girl, didn’t your father once tell you to never put yourself in danger for anyone?” Zhan Tiri said and chuckled wickedly.

Cass heard some cracks, she turned around and seen a dead tree collapsing, she threw herself to the side and dodged it just in time, she then found herself laid on the floor awkwardly. Her dad had burst in and knelt beside her with a look of terror on his face as he had thought someone had hurt her in real life.

“Cassandra, are you hurt?”

Cass shook her head. “W-What happened?”

David sighed as he put a hand over his face. “I was about to ask you the same thing, I’ve just calmed Meg down then I heard you screaming to, this is very unusual for you.”

Cass was quiet for a minute as she sat herself up, she put her arms around her legs and her head on her knees. “I keep having nightmares… About Pete, which is really weird, he’s the last person I thought I would be afraid of.”

“Yeah, he’s never been scary before, what happened?” David asked.

Cass sighed again. “He was just like me with the Moon Stone but instead of rocks, there were flames everywhere… I think he is going to start a fire in Old Corona woods to bring up the Phoenix flower… For some reason, he is after it to so to save Stan I have to get it before he does.”

David paused as he tried to process what he had just heard then put a hand on her shoulder. “Cassandra, Honey… I know you want to help Stan but don’t put yourself in any danger if Old Corona does go up in smoke don’t go there… The smoke will choke you and you could get burnt.”

“Dad, I can’t wait-“

“Cassandra, listen… I know Stan, he would not want you to risk your life like that, it won’t help anyone if you get burnt to death will it?” David said as he looked her straight in the eyes. “Stay away from Pete, there's no telling what state he is going to be in, I fear this Shadow Man will make him worse, change him into a completely different person… When it is safe you can get the flower.”

“It will be too late then Dad… You know Stan does not have a lot of time left,” Cass said.

David sighed as he rubbed his temple, he felt another headache coming on. “Remember your heart isn’t as strong as it used to be… I had almost lost you twice already, I don’t want to risk it a third time.”

Cass breathed a heavy sigh. “I know Dad… It’s just a nightmare so it might not be that bad… The thing is I'm struggling to overcome my personal demons.”

David was quiet for a moment then pulled her into a hug as she became anxious again. “I know Honey, it’s been a really tough year for you, Zhan Tiri had seriously hurt you both physically and emotionally, I’m going to be there for you all the way… You’re not alone anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay guys, I got a bit stumped after the previous chapter which was not very good as I made some silly mistakes and slipping out spoilers in replies. I'm just as bad as Pete for being a blabbermouth lol.


	39. The Race To The Flower

It was strangely peaceful in the tower, no arguing or fighting for most of the night but despite the calm and quiet Peter still felt uneasy. He couldn’t stay still for five minutes as he kept pacing back and forth the illusion Shadow had shown of his dad being executed by the guards earlier that day traumatised him the anger burned inside him like a raging fire, he felt going straight to that castle and attack Mel sighed as she watched him, he was still having frequent mood swings, she glanced down at the amber potion in her hand Shadow was sure he had improved it so he would not get sick again, just make him numb and sleep longer than he would under a spell.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Mel whispered as she put a hand on his shoulder but he brushed her away.

“No, no it’s not okay! They killed my dad… H-He was hung!” Peter shouted as his mood swung back to anger.

“I know… They killed my mother to but we will make them pay,” Mel said. “Soon it will be time for you to achieve your destiny of being the Dragon Warrior and take the stone, Freddy Boy won’t know what hit him.”

Pete growled as he thought of the King, he was in the illusion to, he was young then and new to the throne, he sat there high and mighty on his throne and sentenced his father to death in front of everyone during a rigged trial. “He can go to hell, Corona can crash and burn for all I care.”

Mel nodded as she gently rubbed his back. “It will, very soon.”

“What?”

Mel smirked as she glanced back at him. “You’ll see… We’ll destroy everything they hold dear, just like they had done to us, for now, you need to rest, Honey.”

Pete breathed out a heavy sigh as he ran a hand through his hair and continued to pace. “How can I after what Shadow had shown me? After what that git has done to him and me?”

Mel shook her head, she felt like whacking him at the back of the head for scaring him like that, just talking about it would have been enough, now he’s got him all wound up. “Look, you’ve been fighting hard all day, you get extra cranky when you’re overtired.”

“Well, you can’t expect me to be chill after everything I’ve been through!” Pete snapped.

Mel sighed as she put a hand over her face so much for a quiet night, he suddenly kicked off again which they expected would happen, now she could see why Shadow insisted on using the numbing potion after training, he also told her it was for her safety to in case he turned on her. “I don’t… You won’t be any good if you’re worn out, will you? Anyway, it’s time for your medicine.” 

“I don’t need medicine, I’m fine!” Pete snapped again and punched the wall in a temper. 

Mel rolled her eyes, she hoped he was not always going to be this difficult, she had already changed his whole personality, what more could she possibly do? “You’re overthinking it, just calm down.”

“Calm down, calm down! I’ve got a load of men on my trail and you’re telling me to calm down?” Pete yelled as he turned to her with a furious expression, he accidentally knocked the candle over, the flame had begun to spread beyond the wick.

“Aqua!” Mel cried and a small amount of water squirted out of her wand and extinguished the candle before it set her tower alight which left them in darkness. “Luna Lumos.”

A small white light appeared at the end of her wand, she tried to comfort him again by putting a hand over his shoulder. “Honey… Come on you’re going to be fine, you’ve been doing so well with your training, you won’t die Shadow is going to be there to guide you.”

“How can you be so sure? There’s going to be dozens of them and just four of us… They could shoot me down in minutes!”

“We will have something much more powerful than any weapon they have,” Mel said.

“What are you on about?” Pete asked.

“The stone, Fire as they call it here as no one knew what a sorcerer was when it was written,” Mel replied, she sighed and pulled Peter into a hug as he started shaking like a leaf from anxiety. “Try not to overthink it and you will do fine.”

“Really?”

Mel sighed as she moved back and looked him in the eyes. “I’m your girlfriend, remember? Of course, I do… I’m doing my best to help you, I have sheltered you from the guards for months, given you food and warmth.” 

Pete gulped as his heart sunk, he suddenly felt guilty for snapping at her even though he was not the one in the wrong, for some strange reason she was the only one that got past the hate potion, made him feel safe but anxious at the same time. “M-Melody… I-I’m really sorry for shouting at you like that.”

“Hmm… You owe me, remember the flower?” she whispered as she looked at him with an icy glare. “I don’t have a lot of time you know, my sickness is going to get worse.”

“Yeah… I know, you need its power to get better,” Peter replied, he did not get it, he suddenly felt anxious.

“Yeah, it’s also a promise you made to me to pay back for helping you when you were at your lowest, don’t you just hate it when people break their promises?” Mel said as she turned around and distanced herself from him.

Pete was quiet, he did not know what to say, some may have seen this as a big red flag but he failed to understand what a toxic relationship was. “I-I don’t remember… If that ever happened to me but it is bad.”

Mel nodded. “Yes, it is a very bad thing, I’ve been let down many times by guys who promised they would help but then either failed or ditched me for another chick, I can only hope you won’t do the same.”

The fire that burnt in him earlier had been put out just like the candle, he looked like a kicked puppy as he cornered himself and looked at her anxiously as though he was afraid she was going to dump him. “No, I won’t… I want to help you get better.”

Mel turned around, moved closer to him and put her arms over his shoulders, she looked at him with that sweet smile which confused him… Just before she looked like she was going to kill him now she was comforting him? What was she doing? “You promise?”

Peter sighed, as the glare she had given him made him uncomfortable, he could not exactly say “no” to her while she was looking at him like that, well he could but that would land him into more bother, he was in her tower, after all, he had no idea where in the island he was and had no one else to turn to now he had the guard on his case, he really did want to help her, he felt obligated to pay her back for everything she had done for him but was unsure how he could get hold of a flower that was so rare and powerful, for the sake of keeping the peace he bit the bullet and nodded. “Yes, I promise to get the Phoenix flower for you.”

Mel smiled and nodded as though to say “right answer” but she would hold him to that, should he fail he was going to be in for a world of pain, she moved her arms from his shoulders, she held his hand instead and showed him the second potion. “Alright, now we’ve got that settled… Time for you to take this.”

Pete blinked as he was apprehensive about drinking that amber liquid purely out of gut feeling. “What’s that?’

Mel sighed and shook her head. “Oh dear, your mind is messing with you again… I had just told you, it’s your medicine to help with your nerves so you actually stay asleep.” She handed it over to him.

Peter stared at the amber liquid curious about what kind of stuff was in it, bit fearful but was also desperate to make the pain stop, he pulled the cap off and drank it all in one shot, it was like apple juice after a few minutes it eased his headache but made him dizzy like he had been spun around several times. He dropped the flacon, he tried to sit down but his legs had given away before he had a chance. Mel groaned as she thought he had the sense to sit down before he had taken the potion, she could not be bothered to carry him herself again so just turned him onto his back and put a blanket over him. She picked up the flacon then looked at him with a small smile, she used her left hand to stroke his hair, it was just like when she had first brought him in, she realised he was still awake but not for much longer as his eyes were half-closed. “Don’t worry sweetheart, you’re safe with me,” she whispered then leaned down, kissed him on the lips as he lost consciousness, she had put a spell on him and now he was all her’s.

Frederic paced the floor of his study until he heard the door open, he turned and seen Rob and John. 

“Ah, Robert, Johnathan…How was Espinosa today?”

Rob sighed as he walked into the room. “She had abandoned her post to see Bader’s wife when she was crying when it was her who had behaved wrongly… She insulted me to, Bader had no control over her, let’s her do whatever she likes.”

Frederic rolled his eyes, he did not care about the former guard’s wife, he was asking about Cassandra! “Did Espinosa return to her post?”

“Yes, Your Highness, the Princess has also sneaked in a visit to her, that is the real reason she wanted to go to town, she still has not learnt anything from the experience… She is playing nice to keep her on her side, she needs her to keep away from any harsh punishment, I had asked her about the Phoenix flower,” Robert said.

Frederic’s eyes widened slightly as it reminded him of the Sun-Drop. “That would be a good replacement for the Sun Drop flower that Varian had stolen, in case of another emergency, what does Miss Espinosa plan to do with it?”

Rob sighed and shook his head. “To regain power obviously but that low life has been using Bader’s illness as a cover-up!”

Frederic nodded. “I see… Who is Bader by the way?”

Rob groaned and facepalmed. “Stan, Your Highness, big guy, black, handlebar moustache, goofball that used to hang around with that idiot Hayes, he is now incapacitated because of something George had given him apparently... Though I wouldn’t put it past a moron like he was to take something he shouldn’t, they were both thick and as useful as a plank of wood.”

Frederic nodded again, now he remembered them. “Yes, I don’t know what David saw in those two… He had already known about Hayes’ past with drugs and alcohol, we need emotionally stable men, he only managed to keep clean for a decade then relapsed, David’s trouble was he was too kind, think people like that can change for the better, I’m not fond of Bader either but that woman using him as a cover-up is despicable… How does she know of his condition?”

“Mr Espinosa has been working as his carer as his wife is unable to give him the around the clock care he needs… No one knows how much longer he can hold on for, I hear he is in a great deal of pain but they’re dragging it out hoping for some miracle, would be better to just put him out of his misery,” Rob said. “Espinosa told me she is planning to use the flower to cure him but I don’t believe it, how can I after what she had done with the moonstone? She doesn’t care for Bader anymore than we do, she never has, he’s nothing to her.”

“Yes, I find that very hard to believe that she would actually put someone else’s needs before herself, what does this Phoenix flower do?” Frederic asked.

John shrugged. “From what I heard it is very similar to the Sun-Drop, has the magical healing powers, glows and stuff… It grows the opposite way to it though, the destruction has to come first… It somehow grows in a fire.”

“A fire?” Frederic looked at the guard with a bewildered expression.

“Yeah, a wildfire so Old Corona might go up in smoke soon,” Rob replied.

Frederic nodded, he remembered how angry Quirin got when a lantern landed wrong and started fires which he had to help put out. “Keep an eye on her and this Phoenix flower.”

Rob and John bowed. “Yes, Your Highness.”

Frederic sighed as he looked down at Rapunzel’s journal, it would only be a matter of time before she realised it was missing, he had to get it back to where it was somehow. “Robert, before you go return this to Rapunzel’s room, be subtle if she asks just say you were doing a security check.”

“You sure she would believe that?” Rob asked. “We’ve never done that before.”

“These are strange times we are living in Robert… Just when you think it’s going to be okay something else comes up, I want to make sure her room is secure anyway just in case,” Frederic replied.

Rob nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty, I understand you do not want a repeat of that tragedy.” His exit had come at possibly the worst time for he made it about halfway down the corridor and ran into Eugene.

“Hey, Rob, I’ve been looking for you… Rapunzel had told me quite a bit about you,” Eugene said.

Rob scoffed. “I was just looking out for her, she’s not trustworthy.”

“I trust her a lot more than I trust you, what you did was out of line… She had also told me how you had mistreated Stan’s wife! Trying to get her fired!” Eugene said in a raised voice.

“She’s got it wrong, Mrs Bader was attacking Mr Levi, he was a customer!” Rob argued.

Eugene sighed. “I doubt that he was disrupting her at work for a stupid play of his, did you happen to notice a bump? She’s pregnant and vulnerable, you know her circumstances so you should have been more compassionate.”

“Cain acted out on grief for her father, doesn’t make what she did right does it? Hayes was grieving over his dad when he ran away!” Rob snapped.

“That’s irrelevant right now, guards are meant to protect people not hurt them, it’s their taxes that pay our wages!” Eugene shouted then noticed the small brown book in his hand. “Wait a minute, that book looks very familiar, hand it over.”

Rob groaned but did as he was ordered. “Just so you know, it was the King who took it not me… He had just ordered me to return it to her room.”

“What? Why?”

Rob shrugged. “He’s worried about her playing Rapunzel again, you know how she is… She’s the most generous person in the Kingdom… She doesn’t see what game she is playing now, trying to regain power again, she acting all nice saying she’s doing it for Stan but I know she does not give a hoot about him!”

Eugene groaned as he shook his head. “You’re wrong, I had given Cass permission to research the Phoenix flower to help Stan from an early grave, he could die any time now!”

“Why do you care so much about him? He was just a guard!” Rob snapped.

“He is more than just a guard, he is a person, he was one of the people Evans had hurt, he is also a friend... Anyway, I don’t have time for this, I made it clear earlier, three strikes and you’re out and you had used up all of yours!” Eugene yelled.

Rob gasped, he could not believe it, he had just been canned. “W-What are you on about?”

Eugene crossed his arms and stared him down. “Turn in your helmet, you’re off the guard… I’m not taking any nonsense from any of you after what Evans had done, you aren’t half the man Stan was!”

Rob gasped. “W-What I was a much better guard than Bader! I kept the Princess safe in her room while she was in lockdown!”

Eugene shook her head. “No, you held her up like a prisoner and trying to sabotage Cass’ work!” Eugene shouted.

“No, I wasn’t! I was told she-“

Eugene waved his hand, something he had seen David to once or twice. “I don’t want to hear it, just go! Now!”

Rob huffed and stormed out of the corridor, helmet under his arm.

Eugene groaned as he looked at the door to the study, he was buzzing with rage, he burst into the room.

“Frederic! What on Earth are you playing at?”

Frederic froze for a moment and turned to him. “Eugene... What is the matter with you?”

“I had just asked you the same thing! It was bad enough that you had locked her up but to steal her diary is another low especially now to use it to find evidence against Cass doing any wrongdoing!” Eugene yelled.

Frederic sighed as he bowed his head. “A guard has raised concerns about her interests in magical artefacts... She has been displaying suspicious activity in researching the Phoenix flower.”

Eugene groaned. “Ah come on! You saw your chance to trip Cassandra up and you jumped to it!”

Frederic groaned as it infuriated him to have his son-in-law dare to take that tone with him. “I am only trying to stop the flower from falling into the wrong hands, we both now she that nothing good can come out of her using magic!”

“No, that’s not it at all! She is seeking it out to help Stan who had been made terminally ill by Evans! You already had the Sun-Drop which was a big mistake but whatever... Point is there is a man who is in desperate need for it, a family even. You remember how scared you were of losing Arianna don’t you?” Eugene said in a raised voice.

Frederic sighed and turned away, he rested his head on his hand. “Yes... She was about to die in childbirth, what is your point?”

“That is how his wife is feeling, he went away to work fine and then the next thing she knew he was brought home with a terrible sickness... He lost a lot of his memory, he did not even recognise her, this was supposed to be a special time for them as they are growing a family... She is pregnant with their first child! I imagine going through that is hard enough but now she has to work overtime to make ends meet as I had no choice but to make Stan redundant... He has already seen two doctors, there’s nothing they can do to heal him, just ease his pain a little. You know, since the poisoning Cassandra had been damaged, the potion had hurt her heart but she is going to be using the flower on Stan because it’s urgent... That’s the difference between you and her, rather than make use of its gift after treating Arianna you locked it away and pretended that it was gone.”

Frederic frowned, he did not give a hoot about Stan and hated the way he stuck up for her, he could not understand it. Perhaps that was because he was so blind by hate he could not let it go but if he did not stop and listen to the right people it would destroy him.

Cass stretched her back for a moment, it was sore since she had fallen out of bed, both she and Meg were relieved to see Will again and not that jerk Rob, they hoped they would not have the displeasure of working for him again. “Morning, Will.”

Will nodded and put on a little smile. “Morning Miss Espinosa, the materials are inside, if you need any help just say.”

Cass nodded as she walked in with Meg right behind her.

“I’m really sorry about last night… I don’t know how I can get the night terrors to stop!” Meg said.

“It’s alright,” Cass replied. 

Meg sighed as she picked up a brush. “Your poor dad, can’t get a minute’s peace... Looking after Stan all day then comes home to me crying and screaming in my sleep.”

“It's alright, I've been having nightmares about Pete... It looks like I’m going to have to fight him for the Phoenix flower,” Cass said.

Meg’s eyes widened. “Yikes... Do you think you will be ready for that?”

Cass shrugged. “I know it’s risky I’m not as strong as I used to be but I will have to try... It’s our only hope, Dad said he had lost his appetite, that’s a sign he is dying.”

Meg sighed. “That’s true... You see that with animals when they’re reaching the end of the line which makes sense, no point in eating if you’re going to die soon.”

Cass was quiet for a few minutes as she painted the wall, this brought up something that made her heartache, she was snapped out of her thoughts when she had seen Woodlock rushing down the street with her dad. “Looks like Stan has taken another bad turn as much as I would like to go over there and support there’s nothing I can do right now except hope that he will be able to hold on,” Cass replied. “There is going to be a wildfire coming very soon, despite my dad’s protests I’m going to go after it, even if that means fighting Pete myself.”

“How are you going to do that? He will have gotten stronger while you had gotten weaker,” Meg asked.

Cass sighed as she turned away from the window. “I’ll just have to figure something out… Keep it between us okay? I don’t want his Highness to find out, it’s bad enough racing with him.”

Meg sighed. “I think that secret is pretty much out, you had already slipped it out to Rob.”

Cass groaned as she facepalmed. “Damn it, I did… Well, this is great, it’s going to be me vs Pete and Frederic.”

“Why would he want the flower?” Meg asked.

“I guess to replace the Sun Drop, in case of an emergency like if Arianna got sick again,” Cass replied. “If asked he would likely say for safekeeping.”

Meg groaned. “What a git, he isn’t even going to let anyone else have a chance? I doubt it was only the Queen who was sick that night, Stan is in desperate need for it, the doctors can only do so much to ease his pain and bide him time.”

Cass breathed a heavy sigh as she dipped her brush into the tin, all she wanted was some peace but it did not look like she was going to get any of that anytime soon, she wished she did not have extra stress to deal with after getting out of the dungeons. All she should be focused on was getting through her community service but then there were the after-effects of Evans’ actions he had made Pete run away and Stan gravely ill now she was faced with the extra tasks of saving a life and Corona again.

While they were painting away Peter was busy training again, this time all he thought of was keeping his promise to Mel, he put his all into fighting Shadow then going through the obstacle course just like in guard training there was a lot of running, when he came across a puddle he leapfrogged over a log rather than go around it, there was a wooden fence he had to get over, not as tall, he took out his sword and thrown it in the air, Raven caught it, he was strong for a small bird, he flew over Pete as he raced towards the wall, leapt and flipped over it although he could not remember it this is how he had passed it on the last day of guard training. He landed right on his feet, caught the sword with a swift swipe he beheaded the scarecrow.

Shadow clapped and smirked as he watched him from a distance. “Wow, you got through it perfectly on the first attempt, well done.”

Peter did not respond right away, he needed a moment to catch his breath, a chill ran through his spine when he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder then something wet and soft on his cheek. “You’re doing so well, you’re almost ready to take the stone.”

“It’s all thanks to you that I got my strength back,” Peter replied then kissed her back. “I’m going to get that flower for you even if it’s the last thing I do.”

Shadow sighed as he rolled his eyes. “Here we go, can’t you two go without smooching for ten minutes?” As per usual he was ignored by both of them as they kissed each other, he narrowed his eyes as he did not like being ignored. 


	40. Pain

Eugene and the guards had returned to the castle empty-handed again, much to their dismay, now it was onto the next job of giving George his last punishment. The young Captain breathed a heavy sigh as he unlocked the integration room also known as “the room” he hoped he would get a few clues on the Shadow Man and find out what the big idea is, a fortnight had passed since Pete had run away, Ron and Joe had kept a tight hold on him as they dragged him in. The former guard found himself in a prisoner’s position in shackles and chains.

“Alright, Evans, as you can see the gig, is up… I have heard you blame the death of your mother on Cassandra, the coroner concluded her death was actually from a heart attack, nothing to do with her so it was all for nothing,” Eugene said. “I can just imagine how disappointed she would be in you if she could see you now, you threw your career away and now you’re about to lose your life… You made too many mistakes you got busted just two days before the trial.”

“Shut up!” George snarled at him, ignoring the hard glares he got from the men that held him by the arms just in case he tried something.

Eugene narrowed his eyes, it surprised him how he managed to stay on the guard for as long as he had, he was also furious with him for causing so many problems with the squad. “That is not all, you almost murdered a co-worker, pushed Stan to suicide in just a matter of days! You had spiked Pete’s water, manipulated him so much he had a relapse with his alcohol addiction, driven him away from his friends and everyone else… What is the plan with him now? What is The Shadow Man doing with him? Pump him up with more potions and drugs? Get some kind of magical stone that turns you into a human Roman candle?”

George just shrugged. “He can do whatever he wants with him, he might not even be in Corona anymore, Shadow does tend to move about.”

Eugene frowned and his hands clenched into fists by the way he just acted with such sheer carelessness about the harm he had done to them and was deliberately being awkward. “Well, Nigel has sent a notification to the other seven kingdoms in the continent so in the unlikely event he is seen there he will be brought back to Corona… Answer my question, what is Shadow doing with Pete?”

“Why don’t you ask your little witch friend Espinosa? She knows it all,” George said.

“Hey, do not call her that!” Eugene shouted as he banged his fist on the desk. “She has no magical abilities… She is not wicked either, you, on the other hand, are one of the evilest people I had the displeasure of meeting, you had made Cass ill both physically and emotionally, sabotaged her work, you had taken advantage of Pete, played on his fears, confused him, he ran away because he thought we were trying to hurt him! It still doesn’t bother you that his health is at risk?”

George just stared at the desk, if it was not for that chatterbox he would have gotten away with it and he would have been top dog.

“In a way, it is your fault Varian was almost killed, that explains that weird red eye thing, why did you have Pete mind controlled? Wasn’t it enough to emotionally abuse him?” Joe asked. “Did you do that just to make it practically impossible to treat him? I reckon you and Dan had started the rumours of him being on the pot, shift the blame onto him to keep your butts clean!”

George kept quiet, he had no words, he thought that was pretty obvious right now.

“It’s always him that got picked on as he was an easy target… We all know he is not very bright or streetwise, he usually had Stan to look out for him but once you had gotten him out of the picture he was putty in your hands,” Ron said.

“Yeah for a while then I had driven him out, do I have to paint you a picture to? He is not the same nice guy you know him as… Shadow would have gotten into his head and turned him against everyone, I would watch my back if I were you… Captain,” George said as he glared at him.

“This is the last time I will ask you this, where has The Shadow Man taken Pete?” Eugene asked, he pulled the note from his pocket and showed it to him. “What is he doing to him?”

“How am I to know? I did not even have the chance to communicate with him before you arrested me, they could be anywhere in Corona or elsewhere, Shadow is a drifter… Goes wherever the wind takes him, there have been some problems with the last potion as that weakling had a bad reaction to some of the ingredients so had to find alternatives… I imagine he would have gotten it right by now after a bit of trial and error, he is going to use him for his own personal gain… Whatever that is,” George said.

“You don’t know what his plans are?” Joe asked, he bent down and picked up the note to have another look at it, he couldn’t make it out very well in the badly lit dungeon. “You seem pretty certain here, why would you use Will as a practice dummy? Why is Shadow training him to fight? As a guard, he should already know how to do that.”

“Well, combat has never been his strongest point… You put him on the hate potion to distort his perception on reality so he did not know what is real or fake, you kept this up to set him up so he would come back attack us, you somehow stop him and become the hero that saves Corona from another disaster,” Ron said.

George sighed, that was the backup plan, Shadow had filled him with so much confidence he was foolish enough to think he would pull it off. “What does it matter? What happens to him now is out of our hands, he is under Shadow’s control… He’s like a slippery snake and so are all of his friends, see why his gang is called Serpents?”

Eugene sighed, it looked like he had gotten into the situation Varian had with the Separatists of Saporia, he thought this Shadow Man had reminded him of someone but far more clever and sinister, it gutted him to see the look on Meg’s face when she had given him a brief description of her experience with him. “He has a gang?”

George nodded. “Yes, he’s had it for a while now, dark witches and wizards like himself.”

Joe and Ron groaned, they could not believe this guy had gotten onto the guard in the first place.

“These are the very people that we are supposed to fight against, you hated Miss Espinosa for the crimes she had committed yet you had worked with someone who practises dark magic!” Ron said.

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, it was clear he was not going to get anywhere with him. “Okay, let’s get it over with.”

Ron and Joe nodded and dragged him out, there was a moment of silence then he clicked on with just about what was happening.

“N-No... Wait I have names!” George yelled and struggled under their strong grip. 

Eugene groaned he did not have time for this. “Typical you only think to bring that up now!” 

“The Serpents, I know them!” George cried.“There’s Raven, Ivy, Lady Rose, Hook, Marcus, Issac, Jacob... Woodlock!” George blabbed as they dragged him down to the gallows but then stopped.

“What?” Eugene gasped, his heart sunk as he thought of the man he had brought in to treat Cass and Stan, was he actually hurting them? 

“His daughter Melody... Although he might be in on it to, they’re slippery these magical people,” George replied.

“Yet you worked with one of them,” Ron muttered.

“Any idea where we could find The Serpents?” Eugene asked.

George sighed. “Well, there is this pub that they hang out in its called The Poisoned Apple... It’s far out in the outskirts of Old Corona if they still have Pete that’s where you would find him.”

Eugene nodded. “Alright, we will try looking there.”

There was silence as they walked the rest of the way to the gallows, Eugene had taken a deep breath as even though he despised George the thought of seeing a person hang made him feel queasy, he was relieved to have Joe and Ron to do that, it was over within minutes, they had been doing this for quite some time so it did not bother them to see him strung up.

Usually, Cass went home after her service but this time she and Meg had popped by Stan’s. It had been a very hard day, she thought her dad could do with some emotional support and to see how Stan was doing. Maybe if he had a bit of time with someone from the outside world he would not feel so empty and lonely. Cass had breathed a deep sigh as she raised her hand and knocked on the door, they heard the faint sound of barking and in a few minutes, her dad came round.

“Cassandra, Megan... What brings you here?”

“I heard Stan has taken another bad turn, I thought you could do with some help,” Cass replied.

“Aren’t you tired from painting all day? There’s not much you can do,” Dave replied.

“I could give some emotional support, help out with other stuff,” Cass said. “Maybe if he had some more interaction with people he wouldn’t feel like he is missing out so much,” Cass replied. “Maybe we could give Patch a walk, he doesn’t seem to get out much.”

Dave sighed, he was worried that seeing him would distress her. “Alright.”

He stepped aside and waited for them to walk in before closing up again, Patch bursted in excitement at the sight of his new human friend, he dashed over to her with his little tail waving frantically.

“Hi Patch, glad to see you’re doing well,” Cass said as she bent down and tickled his ear.

Meg bit her lip as Jack looked startled by the excitable puppy but surprisingly he was okay. He stayed downstairs while Patch followed them up, she glanced at Cass and she seemed as nervous as her.

“He did say he would still be able to hear you while he’s Uh... Sleeping like you when you were on that potion but he is deteriorating quicker than we expected,” David said then opened the door. “Hey Stan, got a couple more visitors... My daughter Cassandra and her friend Meg.”

“Hey, Stan, how are you doing?” Cass said though she felt like facepalming as he was very clearly not okay. He had lost colour in his cheeks, he appeared to be fast asleep but his breathing was not very good.

Stan groaned, he had never felt so weak, not that he could remember anyway. “C-Cass.”

“Yeah, it’s me... I had just finished my community service for the day, I mostly decorate but sometimes do some cleaning, it didn’t get off to a very good start but it’s starting to look up,” Cass replied.

“T-That’s... G-good,” Stan said, his usual slightly deep voice turned into a whisper, she was not sure if he understood everything she said but it was good he was still with the land of the living.

“Yeah, the town is getting better, most of the shops and homes have been rebuilt... Many people still haven’t forgiven me for what I had done but luckily the most important people to me do,” Cass said.

Stan weakly smiled, it had taken a little strength he had to just talk. “G-Great... C-Corona is g-getting b-better... Arg!”

“Yeah... You’ll be able to see it once you’re healed unlike Evans, he is going to be hung today,” Cass said.

Stan sighed. “I-I don’t t-think... I can h-hold on m-m-much l-longer C-Cass, I-I am going to d-die.”

Cass felt a pang in her chest, it was more distressing than she expected, she wished that damn flower would just appear right at that moment, not make her wait for a stupid fire. She wished Pete would just come to his senses and return home! “Yeah, you could die from this but I’m going to save you.”

“You’re sure it’s going to come in time?” Meg asked.

Cass nodded. “Yeah... It’s Corona, miracles come at very convenient times.”

David sighed as he shook his head, he said in a hushed tone. “Cassandra, Honey... We talked about this.”

“Don’t worry Dad, I’ve got this, I‘ll be ready,” Cass said and glanced through the window as you do in the Tangled verse you express your feelings with song. “Believe me I know, I am risking a lot but after everything he's done for me it's what he deserves, people are still going to say I'm the bad guy anyway but at last some justice will be served, now it's time to step up or it's time to stand down and the answer is clear to see, I'll stand up and fight again for what's right and I'm ready!" 

"R-Ready... Ready," Stan muttered, he wasn't sure why but he had a feeling he had heard that song before somewhere. 

Cass paused and looked down at him. "D-Do you remember that song?" 

"Someone said music can help trigger memories, we had used it once before the battle in Old Corona, when we were about to fight the separatists," David said. "I'm ready." 

Meg looked at them bewildered she had never heard of this song, she laughed when Patch yapped, singing it in dog. 

"I'm r-ready... R-ready," Stan stammered, he had flashbacks of seeing his dad charging on a horse with four other men, they were singing the same thing. 

Meanwhile, training had just finished for the day, they were hanging around in the Poisoned Apple. Mel sat beside Peter and held his hand.

“Okay, so what’s the plan Shadow?” Peter asked.

“I think you are ready to take the firestone now,” Shadow replied. “We’ll set out in the morning to Amestria.”

“Amestria? Where’s that?” Pete looked at him with a puzzled expression, he had never heard of that place before.

Shadow sighed and pulled out a map and pointed to a small piece of land beside Saporia. “Right here, it will take a couple of days, there is an abandoned castle, they had abolished their monarchy after a revolution, there will we find the Fire Stone.”

Peter nodded and there was a slight smirk, it was finally time for him to achieve his destiny, his old rivals would fall as his powers ascend, if they despised him that would be fine with him, he was going to take what was his not like the Moon Stone woman he had heard about. She lost her nerve, she lost the game, he was not going to be anything like her. 

“I’ll help you with grasping your powers then we will attack and take the Phoenix flower,” Shadow said.

Peter smirked as he imagined the men in the illusion crumpling in agony or running away. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“It’s going to be bloody but taking those guys down is far too easy,” Shadow chuckled darkly as he thought of how Zhan Tiri had taken them all down in minutes, none of them stood a chance.

Their bubble was burst as Raven flew in when he turned into his human form he had a panicked look on his face. “The Royal Dogs are heading this way, you have to go… Now!”

Raven and Mel stared at him in alarm but Pete just shrugged and stood up, though he was a bit shaky. “Looks like someone had ratted me out… When I find out who that is they’re going to be turned into a pile of ashes!" Peter snapped. "It's time to step up or it's time to stand down, I swear by the sword if you're in, get on board, are you ready?" 

“Yeah, I am but you're not... You’re tired and drunk, you’re in no fit state to fight right now!” Mel cried as she grabbed his arm and threw a cloak over him. “Put this on!”

“What? I’m fine!” Peter snapped but now he was Raven if it wasn't a dire emergency Shadow would have laughed his head off, hearing his voice coming from a like him who usually had a deep voice. 

“There’s a trap door down here, hurry!” Shadow yelled as he rushed over to the bar. “The Captain’s horse is like a dog, he would be able to pick up on his scent!”

Mel and Pete groaned and followed their leader underground, with just the small light of the wand to guide them they ran down as quick as they possibly could. 

“Where is he? Where is Peter?” Eugene barked as he stormed in with Ron, Joe, Greg and Phil behind him. “I know he is in here, find him! Turn the place upside down if you have to!” He punched a nearby table in a temper just like David.

“I believe this is the man you are looking for,” Raven said as he pulled up a drunken young man who also had a scar on his face but looked nothing like Pete, for one thing, he did not have long black hair and brown eyes.

“You got me!”

Eugene glared at him, infuriated that he was wasting his time.

“Sir, there’s no sign of Pete in here!” Joe called out from the stairs.

Eugene sighed, he missed him, that damn Shadow Man seemed to always be one step ahead of him then it hit him as he looked in the bar, he remembered how he had escaped from the Snuggly Duckling when the guards came after him. “Men, follow me!”

They followed him over to the bar, Eugene pulled down one of the levers and just as he had suspected a panel of the floor had fallen. “Guys… This might just be our lucky day.”


	41. The Chase

“Shadow, after this I am going to kill you! What's the point of retraining him if you're going to make him drunk after?” Mel snapped as they ran through the tunnel, she held on tightly to his arm to keep him from falling behind or over.

“I didn’t think he was, he was fine before!” Shadow said. "I didn't expect the Royal Dogs to show up!" 

“I’m fine!” Pete said though his voice sounded weird and he stumbled a bit. “Why are we running away from them? You’ve been training me to fight them!”

“Just as well I had brought this,” Mel said as she pulled out a flacon with an orange coloured liquid and passed it to Pete. “Here, take this… It will give you the strength to run.”

Pete shrugged and taken it, Shadow groaned, they did not have time for this, he wished he had stopped him from drinking so much, he was snapped out of his thoughts as the pebbles on the ground shook and there was a noise of incoming footsteps, Pete pulled the cloak off and took his sword out.

“Peter!” Eugene yelled. “I’m putting a stop to this right now!”

“You’re the one who should stand down Captain, while you still can!” Peter growled as he turned around.

“Come on, Pete, don't be ridiculous, there’s no way you can take us on by yourself,” Joe said. “By the looks of it you’ve gotten yourself drunk again, your voice sounds weird and you’re shaky.”

Eugene sighed, he did not want to fight him, he would much rather resolve it peacefully even though that was going to be just as difficult, he carefully walked towards him and held out his hands to assure him that he was not a threat. “Pete… Honestly, we’re not here to hurt you, just come back with us to the castle, I’ll make sure you get the help you need, I understand you have been manipulated and hurt from being pumped up with all sorts of things but I know you are not a bad guy.”

“No! You're trying to kill me, just like the last Captain killed my dad!” Pete yelled.

“I don’t know about your dad but I’m telling you the truth we were only trying to help you because George had spiked your drink with a dangerous potion that made you behave in a way that’s out of character,” Eugene said. “Look at me, Peter… This is not the way, just put the sword down and come with us.” 

Pete did not reply, he was confused, who the heck was George? It did not matter, he thought it was lies anyway, the other men did not look as kind as him, they either had their swords out already or hand on the hilts.

“It’s over, Pete… If you don’t do what Captain says you will be in big trouble,” Ron scolded as though he was talking to a little boy rather than a grown man. "Don't push it." 

“I’m in trouble anyway, you think I’m a murderer, you had almost executed me!” Pete snapped.

“Listen, Pete!” Joe shouted. “You aren’t doing yourself any favours being like this!”

“Guys calm down, you being aggressive won’t help,” Eugene said. “Peter, please, listen to me… Stan needs you, he is seriously sick, he could die any day now.”

Peter narrowed his eyes, he was not making any sense to him. “I don’t know anyone called George or Stan... You making stuff up to trick me!”

“No, I’m not, it’s those two who are literally messing with your head!” Eugene said.

Pete had frozen up, his mind was badly clouded, it could not decide between flight or fight before he was determined to attack but despite being on the Hate Potion the nerves still got to him, the alcohol did not help matters, he was right he had lost much of his memory, the past thirty years of his life was a blur. If it was just Eugene on his own it would have been fine but the way he had four men right behind him made it look impossible.

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh, it pained him to see him like this, scared, angry and confused those emotions did not go well together, his dad said you can tell a lot by looking into a man’s eyes, when he looked in Peter’s all he could see was pain. “I can see you’re not well right now... Before another line gets crossed and you lose everything just come home.”

Pete backed away from him, his expression changed back to rage. “That place was never my home, what is there for me to lose anyway? I had already quit the guard and they had taken my dad away from me, if it weren’t for them he would still be here with me!”

“You’ve got it completely wrong, we had no part in your father’s death, he had taken his own life,” Ron said. “I don’t think he would be very happy if he could see you now.”

“Liar!” Pete snapped. "Shadow told me everything!" 

“Cap, the gentle approach isn’t working, he’s off his face, people do tend to lose their senses when they are intoxicated... The potion has just made it worse,” Joe said. “I mean look at him, he’s completely lost it.”

Eugene sighed as he looked back at him, he hated to admit it but he was right, he could not snap him out of it, this potion was too strong, he decided it was time to toughen up. “Pete, I’m taking you back to the castle… You will stay there until this potion has worn off and you have sobered up.” He went to grab his arm but Pete backed away. “Don’t make this more difficult than it already is, don’t cross another line.”

“Get away from me!” Pete yelled.

“Okay, just come with us and I won’t need to touch you,” Eugene said. “Trust me you will be much better with us than you are with those guys… They’re hurting you more than anyone ever has, you don’t even know who you are anymore do you?”

“Cap, you can’t give him a choice, he’s just going to be difficult,” Joe said.

Pete stared at them, he trembled terribly as he felt a mix of rage and fear.

“Pete, come on!” Shadow yelled who was further down the tunnel. 

Peter followed his command, he would fight him another time, when he was sober and Eugene did not have back up.

“Don’t listen to him, he’s using you to get whatever he wants, he must have used a potion or spell to make you lose your memory… Think about it! You have never been this sick until that guy had taken you!” Eugene cried as he chased after him, he could not understand it, how was he moving so quickly? 

“Stupefy!” Mel yelled as she pointed her wand at Eugene and sent him flying to almost the front of the tunnel, he heard it a few more times from her and Shadow, two by two the men had either been thrown away or paralysed with the body binding curse.

“Stupefy!” Shadow yelled and Ron got blasted back.

“Petifitcus totalus!” Mel yelled and Joe collapsed onto the ground unable to get himself back up. “Stupefy!”

Greg had knocked off his feet and further up the tunnel.

“Perificus totalus!” Shadow shouted as he hit Phil then moved further back. 

“Perificus totalus!” Mel commanded as Ron tried to run back up, she guessed Raven had taken care of the two other guards upstairs, she had not even noticed that Shadow had left her side as she hit the men like they were moles in a Wack A Mole Game.

“Confringo!” Shadow shouted as he pointed his wand at a wooden blank that held part of the ceiling, instantly it broke and stones crumbled down creating a barricade between them.

Once they were out of the tunnel, Pete leaned down and panted heavily, he felt sick, he turned around expecting Mel to be behind him, his heart sunk when he did not see her there. “Mel?” He turned around and then it hit him that she was gone. “Mel!” He had tried to run back but tripped and fallen on the ground, he felt dizzy.

“It’s every man or woman for themselves, she should have been quicker, oh well at least you made it,” Shadow said.

“No! W-We can’t go without her…We have to get her back!” Pete cried.

Shadow raised an eyebrow, he was surprised how upset he was. “You really love her don’t you?”

“Of course I do, she saved my life!” Pete snapped then tried to get himself back up, the pain in his stomach intensified, he thought he was going to throw up again any minute.

Shadow sighed as he shook his head. “Look at you can’t even walk in a straight line now… You don’t know when to stop, do you? Father like son, he tried to wash his pains away with booze and drugs, look where that got him.”

Pete paused as he turned to him, he had to lean on a tree to stop himself from falling over again. “H-How do you know that?”

“Before you had gotten amnesia you told me a little bit about your past, I figured from the way you were at the pub you had alcoholism problems in the past… You’re going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow but you can sleep it off on the way,” Shadow said.

Pete sighed as he bowed his head. “I-I can’t do this without Mel… A life without her would just be… Empty.”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “Jeez, you’ve only known her for a few days and you think she’s the love of your life, your dad was like that with your mother… They had only just started dating and got carried away with the making out so she ended up getting pregnant, they covered it up by quickly tying the knot, no one found out about it until much later.”

“H-How do you know that?” Peter asked, he did not remember anyway but he had never thought of his mother, Shadow had only mentioned her.

“You told me before the accident, just reminding you so you don’t repeat his mistakes,” Shadow said.

Pete looked shocked and hurt as he stared at him. “You mean I was a mistake? That I shouldn’t have even been born? Wow, thanks for the confidence boost Shadow… I feel better already!”

“No… It was just bad timing, she did not last long, she died a few years later from a terrible disease as sadly there was no magical flower that could save her,” Shadow said. “It would have been better if they had slowed down a bit beforehand… It does not do well to rush into these things.” He went to put an arm around Pete’s shoulders and helped him move out but he pushed him off, he turned around and stared at the tunnel.

“Don’t worry, she can fend for herself,” Shadow said. “We have to get away before the back up arrive.”

Pete stayed still, it did not feel good to leave her there. “W-Where are we going? How will she know where we are?” 

“I’ll send her a note, she knows where my place is,” Shadow replied.

“You have a home?”

“Yeah… What did you think I just sleep in the pub or the wilderness normally?” Shadow asked. “Come on, I’ll help you stay up, you can’t help her in this state, maybe if you hadn’t of drank so much you would have… It’s her fault, it was her idea, have some fun, I’ve just had the time of my life, haha!”

Peter sighed, he glanced over his shoulder, his heart sunk as he thought of her being trapped in there but he had to admit he was right, he could not save her, he did not have the strength to move the stones, neither did he. “I can’t do anything right… You sure you really want me?”

“Yeah, you’re the only one who can get the Firestone, don’t you trust me?” Shadow asked.

Pete was quiet for a while then replied. “You and Mel are the only people I can trust these days.”

“Now it’s time to redeem or it’s time to resolve and the outcome will hardly come free, now the lines in the sand and our moment is at hand,” David sang.

“I-I’m r-ready,” Stan said in a hushed voice, he did not have the energy to sing.

“I’m ready,” Cass sang.

“I’m ready,” David and Cass sang at the same time. “Ready as I’ll-“

“E-Ever be,” Stan said.

“Yeah, that’s right, well done, where you do remember hearing that song?” David asked.

“M-My, dad… W-When he was g-going to f-fight s-someone,” Stan replied.

“The Separatists… We had fought them a few times in the past, they killed my father to,” David said.

Cass looked down and seen a picture of a man who looked a bit similar to Stan, she picked it up and shown it to him. “This is your father?”

“Y-Yeah… He was a g-guard to,” Stan said.

“Yeah, I remember you telling me a bit about him when you helped me practice my sword-fighting skills,” Cass said. “He was very brave to put himself on the line to save his home and family even though he did not make it back the second time.”

“H-He left one day… I n-never seen him again,” Stan said. “I-I had s-seen him on an h-horse… From the w-window… He was saying he was r-ready.”

“You can remember that part of your childhood?” David asked.

“Y-Yeah… A bit,” Stan replied then groaned as his headache got worse.

Cass sighed, she thought maybe it was best to leave him be now, she touched his hand. “Sit tight soldier, you’ll get there soon… I’ll take Patch out for a walk.”

Stan looked back at her just as he was drifting back to sleep. “T-Thank y-you.”

Cass smiled as she exited the room with Meg and the dogs. “No prob.” 

Patch whimpered as he felt worried for his master, he could sense he was seriously sick.

“It’s okay, little one… He will get better,” Cass said as she bent down and rubbed the back of his brown ear. “There is a way to save him.”

Patch followed his new human friend obediently, although he missed his outings with Lily, he heard she had to stay longer at this place called ‘work’ to get ‘money,’ whatever that was, the human world was a strange and scary place to the pup, he stayed close to her side as they walked down to the street.

“I was surprised how he remembered that song, well part of it anyway,” Cass said.

Meg nodded. “Yeah... It was amazing, glad to see him happy for once, looked like he hadn’t smiled in a long time although to be fair there hasn’t been much for him to be happy about, I think I would have been the same if I was in his position.”

“Honestly, I don’t think I would be able to handle losing so much of my memory and becoming paralysed,” Cass sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. “I hope I can heal him but I have a bad feeling that Frederic or Pete is going to get in my way.”

Meg sighed as she shook her head as she looked up at the statue, she had never seen him but did not like what she had heard about him from some of his subjects, she could not believe someone would be so greedy to take something that they did not actually need while there was someone in a situation as dire as Stan’s. She got distracted when she heard Cass laugh, she looked down and seen Patch with his right leg lifted on one side of the pedestal.

“Well, if the invasion alarm goes off tomorrow we will know why,” Cass said.

“Hey, control your dog, Espinosa!” A man shouted out at her.

Cass turned around and groaned, it was John, she shrugged. “Oh… Too late, anyway I can’t control where he does it and he’s not mine, he’s Stan’s... I’m just walking him because he is unable to.”

John snarled and stormed up to her. “You can, you brought him up to it on purpose!”

Cass rolled her eyes and turned around, she could not be bothered to argue with him. “Patch, come.”

Patch stopped scratching his head and followed.

“You may have pulled the wool over the Princess and Captain’s eyes but soon they will see how you really are, a nasty bitch! You got one of the men hanged and the other canned! Rob was well in his rights to report Mrs Bader!” John yelled as he followed after them.

Cass groaned. “I’m not arguing with you, John, go and bother someone else!”

“No, I’m sick of people like you messing us around! Same with that Peter, he had the nice guy act down for a long time and has now shown his true colours, I swear I am going to make him suffer for killing my brother!” John shouted, he had suddenly become teary-eyed.

“You don’t know that… Word of advice don’t always believe what His Highness tells you, ninety-nine per cent of the time its lies, yes Pete was sighted there but it still could have been anyone, you do get a few enemies in the guard,” Cass said.

John scoffed. “Who the heck do you think you are? The arrogance to say you know better than the King!”

Cass rolled her eyes, she could not believe this guy had made it into the guard. “I am Cassandra Espinosa, I have worked for him a lot longer than you have so I know him very well… He’s not the wise and noble ruler you think he is.”

John growled as he clenched his fists, he glared at her as she turned around again and walked away. “Well, at least he isn’t a traitor!”

“You have no idea,” Cass muttered and breathed a heavy sigh, he had lied to Rapunzel about the rocks being plucked out of the ground like daisies, giving Varian help for his mental health, invading Rapunzel’s privacy, locking her up in her room, controlling her and Arianna, going behind Eugene’s back, keeping George’s secret so he could keep her in prison. Pinning Pete as the murderer without giving Eugene a chance to investigate, the list of his wrongdoings was as long as her arm. She jumped when she heard the noise of a herd of horses, she looked up and seen Eugene slumped over Max. Patch dashed behind her as to him the horses looked like giant beasts and scary ones at that.

“Oh my gosh, what happened?” Meg cried.

“We had come close to catching Pete but his new mates had gotten in the way, a witch had thrown some kind of potion at him that made him go out cold,” Joe replied. “She and another guy had cast spells on the rest of us to so we were either thrown back or stuck on the ground… Cap tried to be gentle and he lashed out at him, he’s completely lost the plot now.”

“Oh no!” Meg gasped as she put hands over her mouth. “That’s awful.”

“He’s just made things a whole lot worse for himself but on the plus side at least we caught a few of the Snakes,” Greg said as he pointed to the wagon he was driving with Phil. “We’ll have to come up with a better plan to catch Peter, Cap thought he could just talk him out of it.”

Joe sighed. “It’s true, I tried to warn him that it wouldn’t work as even Stan had tried that, no one was closer to Pete than him so if he couldn’t get through to him then no one can… We’re going to take him to the infirmary, hopefully, it’s not the same thing you were on, Cassandra.”

Cass sighed and taken a closer look at Eugene, he still had his colour and was breathing fine. “No, it’s not that, I think it’s just a knock out gas… Like I had used on the Princess, he will awake in about an hour or two.”

Joe breathed out a heavy sigh of relief, he would have hated for him to go through that. “Alright, I’ll uh… Let you know how he gets on.”

“Thank you… When he does wake up tell him to wear the armour, he was lucky he hadn’t gotten wounded or stabbed to death, The Shadow Man could make Pete do that if he wanted to, Varian had a lucky escape,” Cass said.

Joe nodded. “Good point, he had even attempted to attack him today, I’ll try to persuade him to wear the armour next time.”

Cass sighed as she watched them go, it worried her how much things had escalated since she had been taken into the dungeons and he ran away, she could only see it getting worse before it could get better, just like the last time.


	42. Hope & Despair

David sighed as he put a bowl of soup on the bedside table, he was fast asleep, he gently nudged his shoulder hoping to awaken him.“Stan, Stan.”

He called his name in a normal tone but did not even stir as he did with Cassandra, he thought maybe if he tried raising his voice slightly he would notice. “Stan… It’s time for you to eat, you need to keep what little strength you have up.” Still nothing, it worried him how much he had deteriorated in just a few days, he watched him carefully, make sure his chest was still moving, he listened out for how his breathing came out, it was quite shallow. He was still shaken from the time he had a bad reaction to the pill the doctor had tried him on, he flopped like a fish out of water, suddenly struggled for breath, it was like he was choking on it. He put a hand over his face as he heard Lily’s cries in his head.

“Stan! Stan, no! Stanley!” 

“Come on Stan, breathe! Breathe!” David said as it got worse, he shot a glance at Woodlock as he rummaged through his bag which he seemed to carry around with him everywhere in case of emergencies, his heart hammered in shock and fear like when he had run to the dungeons to see Cassandra be healed from the poison.

“He will become weaker over the next few days, his passing is going to come sooner than we anticipated… He may wake up later for a little while then fall asleep again,” Woodlock said.

“You mean he could die any day now?” Lily asked as she held his hand tightly.

Woodlock breathed a heavy sigh and nodded.

“Sadly, yes… We had hoped he would have a few weeks or months to live but that seems unlikely now considering how much his condition has worsened in a matter of days, I had tried using the obliviate charm to recover his memories, I thought since he had already lost them it might have the reverse effect but did not pan out as well as I had hoped. He became stuck in the past. All we can do is try to lessen his pain although this doctor albeit unintentionally made it worse…I suppose even if it did work it would not solve his other problem with the loss of his mobility, unfortunately, there isn’t a cure for that either. The memory part of his brain has been severely damaged and now other parts are going to be.”

Lily had broken down into tears, there had been times she feared he would get killed in action someday but she never expected someone on the team to cause this much harm to him, the worst part was there was no potion or charm that could reverse its effects. Their only hope was a mystical flower which might not appear in time, there was also the challenge of finding it in the vast woodland.

David breathed a heavy sigh as he turned his attention back to Stan, the way he had lost his colour and his breathing slowed down reminded him of the time Cass was on the Sleeping Death, Varian and Xavier had saved her just in time. They had never been very close but he was the only one who reached out to him while he was struggling with the loss of his daughter and when she was taken away again over a lie by a corrupt guard, he guessed it was times like these you saw who your real friends were. 

He wanted to believe that he would make a miraculous recovery like Arianna and Cassandra but there was still a seed of doubt, he had a bad feeling that Pete was going to beat her to it and even if he did not, he would fight for it. He shook his head in disbelief, he never thought of Pete as a threat before, combat was never his strongest point though he was sometimes good at catching small “petty” thieves like Dwyane once caught him with little effort. He did well just as long as he was not distracted or misunderstood the situation by not “reading the room.” He could never imagine him getting into a serious fight with his daughter, at one time it would have been laughable but because he has been manipulated by a master criminal, a dark wizard, who had fed him with dangerous potions that were capable of changing his whole personality and making him extremely violent. He was afraid Shadow would drive Pete to murder for real and his first victim would be Cassandra.

He shook his head again and taken a deep breath to calm himself down, he needed to focus on his friend. He had very little to eat, there was still an issue with his loss of appetite, what was more worrying was to see his chest rising slower than usual, he had woken up a couple of times but he was unsure if he would again as it looked like he was hanging by a thread, time was not going to be on their side this time, he tried to stay hopeful for his sake. “It’s alright, Stan... You’re going to be okay, just keep holding on.”

* * *

“Damn, I thought the bad guards were over John reminds us of his existence,” Meg said as she and Cass returned to Stan’s with Patch right beside them.

Cass sighed as she shook her head. “Looks like there’s still some rotten apples left.”

“I hope it is just a few, has it always been a problem here?” Meg asked.

“Not this bad, some of them can be jerks but don’t go nearly as far Evans did, although the guard has been in a bad shape for a long time, hopefully, Eugene will be able to spot all the rotten apples before they spoil the bunch,” Cass said as she entered the sitting room. “Dad, you won’t believe what just-“ Her voice trailed off as she realised it was empty, she figured he was still up with Stan, he probably would be a while, she hoped he was at least a little bit better it looked like it was going to be quite sometime before the wildfire starts and the Phoenix flower appears. She glanced down at Patch, he still had some energy as he was wandering around the room. She smiled as she spotted the little bit of rope again and picked it up.

“Hey, Patch, want to play again?”

Patch perked up and turned to her, he gripped the rope, thrashed his head and tugged the rope, dogs loved something they could sink their teeth into.

“Oh, he’s going for it,” Meg said as she knelt and stroked Jack’s back.

“He loves it,” Cass said as she toggled the rope, she loved playing with him, he was so cute!

They were at it for a while then Patch pulled the rope away, just like before he yapped and wagged his short tail.

“Good boy!” Cass cheered as he scooted closer to her and given him some fuss. “Want to try again?”

Patch yapped and moved back, readied himself for round two.

Meg chuckled as she watched them, she was so sweet and gentle with the pup it was adorable, she was glad to have a friend who was a dog lover. Jack laid on his side and enjoyed a belly rub, he shook one of his rear paws.

Cass tugged a little bit at the rope as Patch pulled the other end, it was great to see the little guy happy, he had been so afraid. He was determined to beat her again as he shook his head and bitten down on the rope as hard as he could. She heard a little growl but knew he was just being playful.

“That is one determined puppy,” Meg said with a chuckle.

“He sure is, haha!” Cass joked, she shook it a bit more and in a few minutes he succeeded, he yapped. Cass reached out and tickled behind his brown ear.

She paused when she had noticed her dad at the doorway, her heart sunk as he had a distressed look on his face she was worried something had gone wrong.

“Dad? Are you okay?”

David sighed as he stepped in. “Stanley has lost consciousness again, I couldn’t wake him up this time… His breathing has gone down to, I’m not sure how much longer he can hold on for.”

Cass groaned, she wished that damn flower would hurry up although if her visions were anything to go by she would have to wait for Pete to start the fire. She was quiet for a while unsure what to say when she tried the door opened, Patch leapt up and barked as he ran towards it. She got up and followed after him, her heart went out to Lily, she looked exhausted, she was pregnant, she had been working all day and her husband had a sickness that got worse every day. She was quiet, usually, she said hello, she looked at David and sighed as she saw the bowl of cold soup in his hands. “He didn’t eat it?”

“I- I couldn’t get him to wake up again… He is in a very deep sleep,” David replied. “He woke up twice earlier but no matter what I tried I couldn’t bring him around.”

“When I told Hughes about what happened he- he said S-Stan should be put to sleep because he’s suffering so much and- and his life has no… Quality," Lily said as she bowed her head and tears streamed down her face.

David gasped, he could not believe someone could even suggest such a thing, it was bad enough the potion had drastically cut his life expectancy he thought the best option was to cut it even more. He was speechless as she had broken into tears again, he sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Lilian that was wrong of him,” David said. “It looks like Woodlock was right… He’s not going to be able to hold on much longer.”

Cass sighed as she leaned against the wall and rubbed her arm, she hoped there was not much more time to go until the Phoenix flower appeared.

She stared into space as she tried to think of the incantation again, something about “heaven’s light.” it had taken a while but she got it, she went over it in her head so when she did heal Stan she would get it right. Flower unleash heaven’s light

Share your power with me, turn back the tide

help me recover, repair what has been destroyed

Stop the plans of fate, rescue what is lost, share your power with me.

She wondered what the incantation for the Fire Stone was, though she supposed since Phoenix was heaven Fire would be the opposite which was hellfire.

* * *

Peter groaned as he had awakened, he had a banging headache, his stomach was sore as though someone had punched him very hard. His vision was blurry at first but once it cleared up he had taken a good look at his surroundings, it was a confined space, he was laid on a small bed on his side. It looked like a caravan, he had never been in one before, he did not get a chance to have family holidays with his parents. It rocked a bit which made him feel more nauseous, it was not often he got travel sick but he was under the weather. He groaned as he felt a sharp pain in one of his kidneys. “Ah!”

“You had passed out as soon as we got here and uh… Had a little accident but I was able to clean that up for you with a bit of magic,” Shadow said and pulled out a yellow coloured potion. “This will pull you through the hangover.”

Pete did not reply, just groaned, he was in too much pain and felt so weak, his eyes widened slightly as bile raised up and before he could get up it had burst out.

Shadow sighed as he brought his wand out from his pocket and made it disappear.

“H-How… Did you-“

“Magic, I am a pure-blood wizard, the best of the best,” Shadow replied.

Pete narrowed his eyes, he did not get what he meant by “pure blood.” Desperate to make the pain stop he had taken the potion without a second thought. “Thanks.”

“No problem… Don’t worry, you’ll be alright, just take it easy in the future okay?” Shadow said and chuckled as he had taken the flacon back.

“It’s my fault Mel got trapped with the guards… I-If I hadn’t been so stupid… T-They will kill her,” Peter said as he put a hand over his face and curled up.

Shadow sighed as he crossed his arms and looked down at him. “Well, yeah you getting off your face did not help… Made the training a waste of time, I did warn you, I could have let them take you but I fought them off for you… Again.”

“I know… I’m sorry Shadow,” Pete replied.

“I was a young lad myself some moons ago… People may say that I am a cold-hearted, toxic snake but I can be very generous… I am willing to carry on helping you, be your friend,” Shadow said.

Peter did not reply right away, he did not remember their whole conversation the past day but he felt bad for letting him down then. “I-I’m s-sorry for causing you so much bother Shadow.”

“Hmm, actions speak louder than words… Help me out next time and maybe I’ll be able to look over your screw up,” Shadow said, he turned around and towards the door. “Rest up, you’ve got a lot of hard work to do, you need to learn to defend yourself better, I’m not always going to be there to save your butt.”

Pete kept quiet but had listened to what he said, his heart sunk, he sounded like he was disappointed in him, angry even. He watched as Shadow exited the caravan and started driving again. He groaned as he facepalmed even though the pain had been eased he still felt awful, fallen into the black hole of despair. He missed Mel, with her he was seen and loved despite his flaws, she was gone because of his stupid mistake, she was in trouble and trapped. She had put herself at risk to save him when he could not defend himself against the Captain and the guards. First, he lost his dad to then next they had taken his girlfriend he sighed as he thought as if his life could not have gotten any worse. He clenched his fists and glared as he thought of the Royal Dogs particularly the one in the red and gold jacket who he thought was trying to trick him, he was not going to let them take another loved one away from him.

* * *

Eugene slowly awakened, he blinked a few times and much to his surprise he had seen them all gathered around him. Of course Rapunzel by his side, Arianna, Frederic, Nigel, Lance, Keira, Catalina, Big Nose, Attila, Hook Foot and the other pub thugs. The men who were with him then were there to.

“Eugene, thank goodness you’re okay! For a moment I thought you were on the Sleeping Death potion! You have been out cold for hours!” Raps cried as she hugged him. When she got back up she had a saddened look on her face. “Joe told me what happened with Pete... He didn’t believe what you were saying, this Shadow Man has twisted him just like Zhan Tiri had done to Cass.”

Eugene sighed as he sat himself up and glanced through the window. “Yeah... He has given him amnesia and told him a bunch of lies... This way it’s so much easier to manipulate him as he doesn’t know any better. I hoped if I made him feel like his feelings are valid, get him to look into my eyes I would be able to break the spell or snap him out of the hate potion like you did with your dad."

“Oh, Eugene... You could have been killed again, please be careful these people are extremely dangerous,” Rapunzel said.

“Pete? Do you mean that goofy guard? How could you not have stopped him? He’s so much weaker than you,” Keira said.

“He didn’t want to hurt him... It’s not his fault, he’s sick because of the potion, he’s being made to do bad things for some reason,” Catalina said.

Lance’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly he could not believe it, he had heard that he had run away but did not think he got into that kind of thing. It was so unlike him. “Wow, Pete with no meat had taken you down?”

“It wasn’t him it was a witch, a real one... There was a guy with her to since Pete was too drunk to fight they cast spells on us either throwing us back or making us stuck... I was so close to getting him back!” Eugene cried. “I told him I would get him help but he wouldn’t believe me... Shadow Man told him that the guard had killed his dad which is why he had turned against us... He still thinks we’re trying to hurt him.”

There was a moment of silence then Ron had spoken up.

“It still doesn’t make much sense how he recognised you but had completely forgotten about Stan.”

“I guess it wasn’t too hard for him to figure out who I was... They often call me Captain out of habit but when I looked in his eyes all I saw was pain, he is ill and if this carries on he’s going to get worse,” Eugene said.

Frederic huffed and shook his head. “Two wrongs don’t make a right and he is a middle-aged adult so he is responsible for his actions... I had tried to warn you about him attacking us but neither of you wanted to believe it. He has made his bed he will have to lie in it, I will not show him any mercy!”

* * *

Cassandra breathed a heavy sigh as she leaned on the window cill and stroked Owl’s wings. “I don’t know, Owl... All my life has just been one disaster after another, I just feel so hopeless.”

Owl cooed.

“I could have done such great things but I screwed up and fallen for Zhan Tiri’s tricks time and time again... I am afraid I won’t ever get to properly redeem myself like Varian did. It seems like no matter what I do it will never be enough... I’ve started to think that I didn’t just want to be a guard for my father... I wanted to prove that maybe I could do things right.” She paused as she looked at her reflection in the window. “I thought when I saw myself in real Coronan Royal Guard uniform in the mirror I would see someone worthwhile.” She bowed her head and sighed again then turned away from her old feathered friend. “I was wrong... I see nothing.”

Owl flew over, perched on the edge of the bed and cooed as though to say: “No, you are not a loser! You are an amazing, brave young woman, you’re working so hard to help others especially those in need!”

Cass smiled then reached up and stroked his head. “Thank you, Owl... I’m glad I have you back by my side, you give me hope for the better.” She yawned then put herself into bed and switched herself off. She saw herself in the woods again, the flower was right there in front of her, she had taken a deep breath, knelt on the hard, damaged ground and plucked a single petal. She shoved it into her satchel, she glanced over her shoulder and examined her surroundings, that was too easy, she did not even see Pete, she jumped when she heard a twig snap. She got up and pulled out a dagger from her boot she had coughed a few times as the smoke got into her chest but still stood firm. "Show yourself!" 

In a couple of minutes, Pete emerged from the darkness, he looked at the flower and realised it was missing a petal. "Hand it over." 

Cass growled as she put her other hand over her bag. "No! You don't need the whole flower, I don't know what Shadow is planning but you're not going to get away with it... Take it from someone who knows being the villain is not the answer." 

Pete's eyes narrowed. "Is that what you think I am?" 

Cass stared at him, he reminded her of herself when she had imprisoned Varian when he was in her tower.  "Well... Doing this doesn't make you much better than those who had hurt you like Evans, this is not the way, continue down this path and you'll soon find yourself all alone with nothing left to lose." 

Pete growled again and raised his hand, he looked at the last path left that was not blocked by fire. "Last chance... Hand over the petal, thief." 

Cass' hazel eyes narrowed, he was unbelievable, someone was in dire need of it and he was fighting over a single petal. "It doesn't belong to you either." 

"Actually, it does, I brought it up with the Fire Stone... It wouldn't have appeared if it wasn't for me," Pete said as he moved closer towards her. 

Cass breathed a heavy sigh she could see there was no reasoning with him, she ran as fast as she could through the path but then fallen onto the ground, she was grabbed by a taller man who had pale skin, long black hair, beard, he pointed a small stick at her and said. "Perfiticus totalus!" 

The moment she was released she collapsed onto the ground unable to move a muscle, her bag and dagger was snatched away from her, another guy lifted her up and tied her to a tree. 

"Just in case you get any ideas about following us or bringing the dogs over," Pete hissed then walked away, he turned around only to block the path with large flames.  "Now, I have nothing left... To lose," she had seen him on the other side of the fire, he had the same cold, expression she had as he held the broken flower and the loose petal in his hand. 


	43. Wishes

Lily dreaded to see what state her husband was going to be in this time, the moment she came into the room she had broken down, it was just like what Dave had told her, no matter how loud she cried or how many times she said his name, she could not wake him up. He was just a shell, his soul close to being lost forever, she could not sleep, she missed the chats they used to have about their day, his big bear hugs, just everything they had done together before all this happened. It devastated her to think that their child might not get the chance to meet their father like David she really wanted to believe that Cassandra would heal him with the Phoneix Flower but was still anxious, hardly anything had gone right in her life. She breathed a heavy sigh as she knelt, clasped her hands together and looked straight ahead.

"God... I'm scared, my husband has been made seriously ill by an evil man... I-I have tried everything, nothing has worked... I-I'm scared that I'm going to lose him... T-That by the time the flower appears it will be too late or never come... P-Please, Father... Help, Stanley does not deserve to die in such a painful way, he's kind, brave and extremely hard working... He is more than my just my husband, he is my best friend... I'm desperate."

She groaned as she shook her head, what was the use in praying? It was not like he could send an angel down to heal him or something, a sign that he would be okay? She looked through the window again and seen a few little stars and one larger one that shone brighter than the rest. "Really, God? Stars?"

She thought back on the time she was a little girl and wished for her mom to recover from the sickness that caused great sorrow in Equis but sadly she did not make it. She had spent the rest of her childhood with her father then he had passed away, closely followed by her sister and a couple of close friends, she had loved and lost many times, it was a cycle that she could not seem to get out of. She turned her attention back to her womb which had grown bigger, she hoped this one would make it to birth, her worst fear was losing both her love and their child. She sighed and climbed back into bed, she was not sure if Stan could actually hear her but thought she should still try to talk and sing to him. She leaned over him and gently kissed his forehead. "I love you, Stan... I always will, I'll remember all those great times we've had together and the not so good times... Even if you do pass away, y-You'll be in my heart." She whispered, she put an arm over him and leaned her head on his shoulder. She wanted to make the most of the time she had with him while he was still with her. 

* * *

Unlike the past it did not scare Cass to see fiery Pete, she could not believe it, out of all people it was him who was going to be her opponent, she sighed as she walked along the street with Meg to work. She felt terrible for her dad, he looked like he weighted the world on his shoulders, she guessed he felt like that as well after Stan had taken another bad turn, he doubts he could be saved. One good thing about the persistent nightmares was it helped with planning her mission, she much rather avoided him altogether but she had a feeling that he would catch her.

“Did you dream about him again?” Meg asked.

Cass nodded. “Yeah… It’s been happening for three days now, it’s always different, last time Zhan Tiri was not there, I still can’t believe that it’s Pete, he’s like… A completely different person… Kind of reminds me of myself.”

Meg nodded, she did not know what he was like before but understood what she meant, she hoped they would all make it through this okay, she did not even know Stan either but she felt awful for him.

“The thing with Stan looks like Shadow’s doing, at least in part, he makes potions that are capable of doing just about anything, he had already gotten away with many murders either making it look like they were sick, killed by someone else or themselves,” Meg said as she bowed her head. “His hands are covered in so much blood... He doesn’t care who gets hurt as long as he gets whatever he wants.”

Cass paused and stared at her, she had wondered how George had gotten hold of a potion like that before she had seen the notes, she knew it had to be more complicated than just a forgetfulness potion, it did not make sense to her how Stan had suddenly lost feeling in his limbs otherwise. “I used to be the same way... I had hurt my friends badly both physically and emotionally.” She bowed her head and breathed a heavy sigh she was afraid Meg would think differently of her once she learned about the harm she had done while she had the moonstone especially with everything she had been through with Shadow.

“I know but the difference is you were manipulated and strung along to do the demon’s bidding, he isn’t, he’s the manipulator! He has chosen his new puppet, you have seen the error of your ways and put things right... We will just have to wait and see if he does,” Meg said and pointed to the Wanted Poster.

“Yeah... I kinda feel sorry for him in a way, his career in the guard has been ruined, he’s isolated from his friends, being played like for a sap,” Cass replied. “I have to wait for him to start the fire in Old Corona.”

“Wait... What? Pete is going to set the village of Old Corona on fire?” Varian cried.

Cass jumped, she had not seen him come into the shop. “Yeah... He is going to take the Firestone and then bring up the Phoenix Flower.”

Varian groaned and shook his head. “Ah, this place can’t go one day without a drama! I have heard Eugene had a run-in with him yesterday.”

“Yeah, it did not go well... Pete has made friends from the other side,” Cass said.

Varian blinked as he looked back at her. “What?”

“The dark side, they are wicked people who use dark magic,” Meg said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they had used the imperious curse on Peter.”

“Imperius curse? What’s that?” Varian asked as he tilted his head, this hocus Pocus stuff baffled him.

Meg sighed as she pushed a bit of hair behind her ear. “It’s a mind-control curse, it’s like hypnotism but it’s not easy to snap them out of it and unless he has very strong willpower he won’t be able to resist it.”

Varian’s eyes widened as he thought of the time he found Pete and he was suddenly driven to kill him. “He doesn’t... I have seen him get mind-controlled before, his eyes turned red and he tried to kill me but instead, he killed Ruddiger... He slashed the vital organs in his abdomen, he was dead within hours of the attack, do you think that’s what caused it? The curse?”

Cass sighed as she looked at him, she was lucky to get her feathery companion back, the poor kid lost his best friend in the worst way.

Meg raised an eyebrow as she glanced at him. “That’s very strange, the imperious curse doesn’t change someone’s eye colour, just makes them blankly stare at you while they do the caster’s bidding... The amount of time it lasts varies depending on the strength of the caster and it’s been unforgivable since the Middle Ages.”

“What happens to people who cast it?” Cass asked.

“You get a one-way ticket to the prison barge... If you use the deadly curse, you die,” Meg said.

“You know a lot about magic... Are you magical yourself?” Varian asked.

Meg shrugged. “I never knew my parents but I guess I am a bit magical... I used to do strange things when I was angry or scared... Like shattering a glass without touching it.”

“Yeah, that’s odd, maybe one of your parents was a witch or a wizard,” Varian said. “One thing that puzzles me is why this Shadow Man had picked Pete of all people.”

“He has been in a bad place since the final battle, he would have been alright if Evans had not interfered and messed him up. In some ways, he was like me... Felt hopeless, he got bullied by some of the other guards to, one thing led to another and now he is putty in the Shadow Man’s hands,” Cass said as she started painting.

“I know he’s an easy target, I thought that guard was just using him as a guinea pig... Maybe the Shadow Man was him in disguise, I didn’t expect them to have been working together!” Varian exclaimed.

“Anyway, I’m going to be testing out Project Obsidian later with Eugene to destroy... Peter’s self-esteem.”

Cass rolled her eyes, she knew what he meant though she was curious how it was going to work this time, with the rocks gone there was no amber. “What are you using this time? That pink goo of yours?”

Varian chuckled and shook his head. “While you were gone Rapunzel had got us to go on a hunt for Herz Der Sonne’s treasure, she randomly paired us up with people and he ended up with Catalina... They got to the Coronan Sap, Catalina swung over it easily on a vine but Pete didn’t... He didn’t realise that the armour put too much weight on him and fell into it... Luckily he didn’t drown but he was completely covered in it, even got the old guy stuck on his back!” He burst out laughing as he thought back on that day. “I’m going to use that to stop him from blasting flames, he can wash it off later... I’ll also be recreating the Rooster just in case he or his new buddies pay us a visit.”

Cass nodded and even laughed herself as she imagined him clumsily falling into the pit of sap but then sighed again as she could see how it could go disastrous. “Just be careful, Varian... Not to trigger it too soon, he might try to make amends.”

Varian sighed and shook his head. “I doubt it, he doesn’t remember us anymore... He doesn’t even know who he is anymore. I mean he knows his name but that’s it, he doesn’t have the same personality he had before.”

Cass nodded, he had a point. “Yeah... Wishful thinking I guess, in one vision I had of our fight for the Phoenix flower he had burnt my hand, in another one of his buddies cast a spell on me then tied me up to a tree and left me to burn to death.”

Varian’s eyes widened slightly and he stopped brushing. “What? Do you think he is going to kill you? Over a petal?”

“If he catches me, he’s following orders from The Shadow Man, I'm not sure what he has done to make him so obedient guess he's tapping into that part of his nature and picked a guard to do his bidding, he was angry with me for stealing a petal from his flower... He thinks because he brought it up it belongs to him.”

Varian frowned, he had a look of disgust on his face and shook his head. “Still... You think he will kill you... Burn you to death! Who knew he could be such a-“

“Well, I had suspended you high up in the air, which could have killed you if Eugene hadn’t been there,” Cass said quickly. “I had also trapped Raps in a cave so I’m no angel.”

Varian sighed as he put a hand over his face. “Okay... While that is true, it’s just... I can’t believe he would... Be like that.”

Cass bowed her head then faced him. “I think I have an idea... Can I use some of your water bombs and your pink goo?”

Varian paused and blinked a few times as he looked at her. “You’re still going to fight him for the flower? Are you nuts?”

“I have to... It’s the only way Stan can be saved, he is hanging on by a thread right now! He’s suffering from breathlessness now, no one else is going to do it, his wife can’t in her condition!” Cass cried. “He has done so much for me when I was in the dungeons... I want to save him.”

Varian sighed, he was surprised she was so driven to save someone she was not even close to but then thought how she saved him when things had gone wrong at the science expo. She was very brave and would have put herself out for someone in danger, that was one of the things he had admired about her. That was something that made her such a great guard at the time, she had the initiative, she did not wait for her dad to give her orders unlike the others she thought for herself and acted. Varian sighed as he ran a gloved hand through his hair and pondered on it for a moment. “Alright... I’ll give them to you tomorrow, still be careful okay, goodness knows what other tricks the Shadow Man has up his sleeve.”

* * *

Pete just stared at the opposite wall, he had no idea what was wrong with him, one minute he was fine then he kept swinging between anger and sadness, he wished Mel was there with him, he missed the comfort from her touch, he did not even mind the times she had cornered him with her demands to get the Phoenix Flower, it was just because she had been let down in the past by guys and he was one of them or so he thought. He had not even considered the one time she had left him on the floor passed out from his sleeping medicine which seemed awfully strong to knock him out that quickly, they had good times, like their first date at the Poison Apple which turned into a fun, eventful night for them. One time he was just like to heck with it and did things with her that he would never have dared to do before, although he could not remember anyway she loved him in a way no one else had in his life. He sighed as he looked at the bowl of porridge Shadow had brought him a while ago, it had lost its warmth and he had not even taken as much as a bite, he did not feel like eating anything, it stayed in the corner on top of the drawers. He had sipped some of the water from his flask but that was about it. He turned onto his back and drifted off, his sleeping pattern was messed up, the problem was not just getting to sleep it was keeping to it long enough to get a good amount of rest. His peace was short-lived as like Cass he had vivid nightmares, although they were often brief it was enough to fill his heart with fear. It late in the evening, rain and thunder, the men was charging towards him, right in the centre, there was the younger man in a red and gold jacket and white trousers, the Captain. The enemy, he fought furiously against them all, blades clashed against each other, he thought just like he had done in training or pushed them back with blasting flames in their direction. He had gotten some of them down but there was still quite a few left, he almost had them but then he felt something sharp hit him in the back, an arrow then there was another and another, he had fallen, the flames had gone out and they circled him like vultures, a pair of them had picked him up and took him away. He did not realise he was doing it but he had been screaming out loud, he panted heavily as he brought himself up, shaking like a leaf, he was scared, no terrified just like he was at the beginning. He could not understand what was wrong with him, why was he feeling this way? He couldn’t breathe properly, his chest felt tight like he was being squashed, in a trap that he could not escape from. 

He jumped when he heard the door open again and seen Shadow. “What’s the matter with you now? A bad dream?”

Pete could not respond, he did not even catch everything he said, he struggled to catch his breath, it was going out of control, the adrenaline was rushed through him he did not know how to make it stop.

Shadow groaned, Pete was much more hard work than he had expected him to be, he knelt in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Listen to me, Peter… Follow me, breathe in.”

Pete looked up at him and even though he was shaky he did as he was told.

“Hold.”

Although it was hard, he closed his eyes and held it for a couple of seconds.

“Out.”

Pete breathed out heavily and reopened his eyes, he was surprised that he had come so quickly, he seemed genuinely concerned, not angry or disappointed like he was before.

“Okay, in again,” Shadow instructed.

Pete was still shaky but still did it, he closed his eyes as he thought it might be easier that way.

“Hold.”

Pete held it until Shadow spoke again.

“Breathe out,” Shadow whispered.

Pete gripped onto the sheet as he slowly exhaled, his heart hammered hard in his chest, he still felt the panic from his imagined battle with the guard that did not end well, the thing that made it so terrifying was that it was a possibility, they could kill him if they so wished to. Shoot him on the spot! They had gone over this for a while eventually he found himself calmer, still on edge but his breathing was better. Shadow carefully moved him onto his back and put a hand over his heart like Mel used to do.

“Your heart is racing, that must have been some dream you had to provoke such a reaction from you,” he said as he looked down at him.

Peter did not reply, he closed his eyes again and continued the pattern.

“It’s all in your head, you need to stop overreacting… I can’t have you breaking down in front of them again!” Shadow snapped.

“I-I know… I-I’m sorry… I’m just… N-Nervous… About fighting… Them,” Pete said while panting, he felt like he had been hit hard with something in the middle of his chest, it was awfully painful.

Shadow scoffed. “You’re always sorry… You’ve gotten so weak, you need to snap out of it and man up, those guys are not going to go easy on you! They will destroy you!”

“I-I know,” Pete muttered, he looked at him with a saddened expression. “T-They want to… K-Kill me.”

“Yeah, they do… You would have been a goner if it were not for me, you owe me big time,” Shadow replied.

Pete gulped as he stared at him. “W-What do… You w-want?” 

Shadow chuckled darkly. “Just work with me and don’t cause anymore bother.”

Pete sighed, as he thought of their escape from the Pub. “Okay… I won’t do it again… Promise.”

Shadow looked at him sceptically. “Right… Make sure you keep to it,” he got up and pulled out the orange potion again. “Anyway, time for you to take another dose of this… It will just make you dozy so you won’t feel the pain like you are now.” He had taken the cap off and handed the flacon over to him, much to his frustration Pete appeared hesitant, fearful even.

“I-I don’t know.”

“Come on, you're always being like this when I give you a potion! Stop being a baby and take it, I’m trying to help you here!” Shadow snapped.

Pete’s eyes widened slightly, lately, he felt he was walking around eggshells with him, he had just said he would not be a bother and minute later he made him angry. He glanced at his side, wishing Mel was there to comfort him, he breathed a heavy sigh and chugged down the whole bottle then his mind just went blank, he had dropped the flacon as his arm fell limply over the edge of the bed. He breathed a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes again and fallen into a deep sleep which this time was dreamless, he felt nothing at all, just completely numb.

Shadow sighed as he picked up the flacon and placed the cap back on. “That ought to keep him quiet for a while… Pain in the ass,” he huffed then exited the caravan and driven off again, relieved to have a few hours free from interruptions. 

* * *

There was a bit of chitter-chatter but it was mostly quiet in the upper level of the dungeons, Mike looked puzzled as a raven bird flown past his shoulder.

“Meow, meow, meow.”

Mike paused as he passed through that area, he turned and to his surprise had seen a black and white cat pacing in a cell. “What the- Why is there a cat in here?” He pulled his keys out and unlocked the door. He knelt and reached out to touch the feline but she backed away. “Aww, you’re a cutie... I think I’ll call you Miss Fluffy Paws.”

The cat swished her tail and narrowed her green eyes, ticked off at the silly man before she had the chance to walk off he picked her up.

“Don’t worry baby, you’re safe with me,” Mike said as he held the cat close and exited the dungeons.

“Hey, Bob look I found a cat in the dungeons!”

Bob raised an eyebrow as he looked as his workmate sceptically. “Why would a cat be in the dungeons? Doesn’t that seem a bit suspicious to you?”

Mike looked blankly at him. “I dunno, we had a raccoon before... There was a blackbird as well that had flown out.”

Bob sighed as he facepalmed. “The raccoon came with the lad... The Serpents are not normal people, do who know what they are capable of?”

“What have they got to do with Miss Fluffy Paws?” Mike asked as he tickled her behind the ears.

Bob groaned. “Don’t name it! Once you name it you get attached to it and when you get attached to things you will want to keep it!”

“First of all, this cat is a she... Cats are living beings not objects, I don’t know how she got here but she hasn’t got anyone else... She’s so small and all alone, how can you look into those beautiful green eyes and throw her away?” Mike said.

Bob rolled his eyes. “It’s just something seems off here... There’s no way it could have gotten into the dungeons on its own!”

Mike huffed and turned away. “You have no heart! Come on Miss Fluffy Paws, I’ll find you somewhere nicer to stay!”

Bob breathed out an exasperated sigh as he threw his hands in the air. “I might as well be talking to a stone wall!”

Mike smiled as he held the bundle of fluff in his arms, he thought this was such a great day. He had always wished to have a pet cat then he had adopted Pete’s cat Mr Happy Paws, now he got another one, he brought her into one of the storage rooms and set her down on the floor. “Okay Miss Fluffy Paws, you can stay here till I’m finished with work then I’ll take you home. I’ve got another cat to so you will have a kitty friend!”

The cat did not show any pleasure in that she just stared at him blankly and swished her tail.

“Okay, I won’t be too long,” Mike said and rubbed her cheek which she appeared to like. He chuckled as there was nothing that made him happier than being with cats. His moment of happiness was cut short as he heard a racket of rushed footsteps.

“The Serpents have escaped!” Eugene yelled. “Move! Move! Containment guys!”

Mike gulped as he was the one who was last in the dungeons, he was going to be in big trouble.

“Mike, get out here, now!”

The young soldier sighed as he brought himself back up. “Yes, Captain!”

He was in such a rush he made the mistake of not closing the door on his way out. The cat strolled towards the doorway and poked her head through and waited until the coast was clear then made her escape she was not going to sit back and let them stop her from making her wish come true. A Cheshire Cat grin appeared on her face, muggles were so easily fooled it was hilarious, she thought it was a wonder how the Coronan Royal Family was still around with how hopeless their guard was.


	44. The Plan

The guards had come out of the tunnels frustrated and agitated as they found no sign of Mel or Raven, they were too late.

“I told you something was up with that cat!” Bob snapped.

“You’re not making any sense, people can’t turn into cats, Bob!” Mike retorted.

“You- You have seen what they had done to the guys! It was just as well we had back up, they had knocked the Captain out and injured some of the men, this is your fault!”

“Nah ah, it’s yours! You were on dungeon duty to!” Mike snapped.

The men groaned in unison as the pair dropped their crossbows and hit each other like Stan and Pete used to.

“Cut it out, you morons!” Joe barked as he pushed them apart. “You two having a sissy fight is not helping anyone!”

Mike sighed as he shook his head. “Uh Joe, you shouldn’t say things like that… It’s insulting to the ladies.”

Joe just rolled his eyes and cursed under his breath while fighting the temptation to strangle the guy.

“Looks like these two are the new Stan and Pete… Just what we need,” Greg muttered. “Fantastic.”

“Pete With No Meat was such an idiot, he could not keep anything secret,” Phil said, sighed as he shook his head. “Blabbed to Varian and the Stabbingtons, read the room, Hayes.”

“What are you pair of baskets going on about?” Ron asked as he approached Bob and Mike.

Mike shifted awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. “I found a cat in the dungeons… She had somehow gotten into one of the cells, I carried her out and put her into one of the storage rooms to stay until I finished my shift.”

Ron, Joe and Greg groaned and facepalmed.

“Ah, right… That’s just brilliant, you have given the most dangerous woman in all of Corona easy access to weaponry that she could steal and use on unarmed people!” Joe shouted.

“You had one job, Mike!” Greg snapped. 

“Hey, how was I supposed to know she was not a real cat?” Mike snapped.

“It was in her cell! Didn’t you stop to think oh where is Mel?” Greg argued.

Mike bowed his head, he was guilty.

“No, you just saw the cute kitty cat and called it Fluffy! God, you’re just as bad as Pete was, he was thick as-”

“ENOUGH!” Eugene roared, they all stood to attention as he huffed and turned to them with his arms crossed. “I can’t believe I’m saying this to a bunch of grown men but I’m not going to be tolerating anymore bullying on the guard, it’s because of that we’ve got this situation with Pete in the first place! Also, guys stop saying stuff like Pete With No Meat and Blobby Bobby, it’s body shaming, although having said that I did not realise it at first, Pete either couldn’t get big and strong as some of you are or doesn’t want to… Same goes with Bob, it ends now, is that understood?”

“Yes, Captain.”

Eugene sighed and nodded. “Alright then, let’s try and find a way to put a stop to this mayhem… Knowing the King he is going to want to throw a full-scale attack on them.”

“Sir… How can we attack them if we don’t know where they are?” Josh asked.

“We’re going to look for them, it will take a while but we’ll get there… Then hopefully we will bring Peter back,” Eugene replied.

“Y-You’re not going to fire me?” Mike stuttered as he shook anxiously, he remembered how furious Dave was after the “Varian” incident, he found out about the theft of the Sun Drop Flower, they thought if he found out who blabbed about its location they would be in a whole load of trouble, many had pointed the finger at Pete but not much came of it but noticed he had more time on cleaning duty than patrol, he rarely went outside. He was a bit lenient since it was due to being given truth serum, he hoped Eugene would show that much mercy.

Eugene paused for a moment then looked at him, he breathed a heavy sigh, he had made the mistake himself of allowing a prisoner to escape when he started on the guard. The crossbow shook in his hands, he reminded him of a certain someone. 

“Yeah but it was in the prisoner’s cell, would that not ring alarm bells to you Hall?” Greg asked as he shot a glare at him.

Eugene shrugged and put a hand over his chin. “You would be surprised what kind of places cats can sneak into and it could have been a stray coming in for warmth… If they couldn’t make it convincing then they wouldn’t have even bothered.”

“Oh, so I’m not going to get canned?” Mike asked.

“Well, maybe the guard isn’t the right job... You seem like a big animal lover you can help out the stable hands with mucking out,” Eugene replied. “Anyway, now is not the time to stop and chat… The most dangerous woman in Corona is on the loose! We have to catch the cat!” He led the way as he dashed across the field. “Here kitty, kitty, you’re not going to get away… I know all your tricks now.”

Mike sighed as he bowed his head, he was so excited to have another cat so when it turned out it was not real it made him disheartened, he jumped when he felt a hand clamp on his shoulder.

“Sorry, I was a bit hard on you before… Don’t worry, there are more stray or abandoned cats that you can take home later,” Bob said.

“You don’t think Pete will be mad that I have taken his cat? I mean… The guys have said it’s likely he won’t come back and that poor little guy was so scared when I went to see him with Rachel if he does come back wouldn’t he want him back?” Mike asked.

“He doesn’t even remember Stan so I doubt he would even know about the cat, he did not even think about it when he ran off,” Bob replied.

“Shh!” Eugene snapped as he spotted the fluffy tuxedo cat and tried to sneak up to it, he got very close as he put his hands over her then just when he was about to grab her, she darted off. The men ran everywhere trying to catch the kitty, some had knocked into each other or tripped over something.

“You should know this is the strangest thing I’ve ever done!” Bob exclaimed. 

“There was nothing about catching kitty cats in training! Any experience in that department Cap?” Joe said as he chased after the kitty.

“No, can’t say I have but I am a cat person so I know a thing or two about these crafty, furry creatures,” Eugene replied as he ran beside him. “Nice try, Mel, merit for being creative with your tactics… You’re not getting away this time!”

Mel hissed as she arched her back, she brought her claws out ready to slash the young Captain’s pretty face, she then noticed a hole in the wall that was just about big enough for her to fit through, she turned around and slipped through it.

“That sneaky little- Never mind… We might just stop her before she gets out of here!” Eugene shouted out.

“Yeah… It’s just a little putty cat how hard can that be?” Bob asked as he huffed from catching his breath, he had never known them to be that speedy.

* * *

Varian sighed as he lowered his brush, he knew what she was like once her mind was set on something there was no changing it, she always quickly jumped in to save someone… He then remembered that The Sleeping Death potion had damaged her heart. He facepalmed, he could not believe he had forgotten that, how could he have not thought about the leftover damage from the potion he had worked so hard to cure her from? He was not as sharp as he usually was.

“What is up with me today?” He muttered as he shook his head in disbelief that he did not hear the alarm bells but was glad he did now, she might not even last enough in the woods to make and even then it would be all too easy for him to beat her, not even his bombs could save her if his buddies were going to be around, he was mostly healthy as far as he knew and would be much stronger than he was before, the odds were not looking good, he did not know a lot about human anatomy but he could see the effects smoke inhalation would hurt a lot or even kill her. He had taken a deep breath, put the brush down and turned to her. He waited until she had finished the wall then put a hand on her arm and looked at her with a saddened and serious expression. “Cassandra… You can’t fight Pete on your own… Y-Your like Stan’s wife, you’re not in the condition to do that.”

Cass sighed as she put her brush down. “Varian- I can-“

“No, Cass you can’t, what was of the first one things that your dad told you during Guard training?” Varian asked.

“Turn your enemies strength into a weakness which in Pete’s case would be water,” Cass replied. “That’s why I had asked for the water bombs.”

Varian shook his head. “No, no… Not that one… It’s never put yourself in danger for anyone, I admire you for your courage but a wildfire is too much for you… It’s unpredictable, it starts in one part and spreads everywhere… You have no way of knowing where the flower is going to appear, with fire there’s smoke and if you breathe in too much of it you could die again, I don’t think even Stan would manage with that on his conscience, he still felt guilty about the time he had thrown me out into the blizzard.”

Meg sighed. “Her dad said the same thing… He’s right Cass, it’s too risky for you, he said Stan would not want you to sacrifice yourself for him, he’s lived most of his life you haven’t… You’ve been so anxious you’re trying everything to make things up with everyone, don’t overwork yourself, none of us wants you to get hurt.”

There was a moment of silence, Cassandra groaned in frustration. “What do you suggest then? I have to get it to him somehow!”

“I think we should wait out for the fire to go down, it would be far too dangerous for anyone to go in when it’s rife as unlike Pete we won’t have a fireproof armour to protect us, I can go with Eugene, Lance and some of the guards to get part of the flower, you can take it to Stan’s and give it to his wife,” Varian said. “That or Eugene and Lance can distract Pete while we get the flower.”

“I don’t think it will be that easy, he cares a lot about the flower… I have never seen him this determined to follow orders, he could still find me and fight for it!” Cass cried.

“I’m going to have a whole load of alchemy and not afraid to use it! Whatever those witches do I can do better, Lance is very good at being distracting to,” Varian said. “I’m not saying you’re too weak but I don’t want you to get hurt or worst still killed, you have seen it in your visions that Peter is not the same man we have always known him as, the Shadow Man can drive him to murder! He has lost all emotional attachment to all of us, he’s far gone… It saddens me to say this but I don’t think there’s any hope of him coming back to us.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Cass said and breathed a heavy sigh. “He might have back up with his new friends so I guess I should to… I suppose with Eugene and Lance distracting him it could buy us some time to wait for the fire to go down.”

“Yeah… So that’s the plan you want to go with?” Varian asked.

Cass nodded, it made her feel a bit better to think there would be other people besides her but there was still something that bothered her. “Are you sure they will be able to hold him up long enough for the fire to die down? I’ve heard they can go on for a long time.”

“I’m sure they will keep it up long enough, Eugene had held him up for a while when he had last seen him,” Varian replied.

Cass bit her lip, she imagined Pete would be in a far worse state than the guards had seen him at the pub, he was cruel, unfeeling and heartless to her, nothing like the soft goofball they had come to know, after learning about the imperious curse she became more worried that Eugene or Lance would get seriously hurt or killed by him while he was mind-controlled like Ruddiger. Things never exactly went to plan either, not even the full-scale attack on Old Corona as a lot of things had gone wrong that night.

The pair of them were snapped out of their thoughts when they had seen Eugene and some of the men rushing down the town on horseback.

“Are they going back there again?”

Varian sighed as he turned away from the window. “I think they should just drop the searches now, he won’t be in the same place they had last seen him, he moves about all of the time, first he was in Old Corona then mount Saison, goodness knows where he could be now.”

Cass hummed as she watched the men pass by. “What did that book say the Fire Stone is?”

“Amestria,” Varian replied then gulped. “From what I hear the state of it is just as bad as the Dark Kingdom, there is something called the Aurora… I’ve read that they are like the magical guard… They used to work for Royalty back when they had a monarchy, now they’re there for everyone.”

Cass breathed a heavy sigh, she had that strange sense of deja vu, the Aurora sounded like the Brotherhood. “Oh boy.”

* * *

Mel got away, no one could believe they were chasing after a little kitty cat or that the creature was actually a witch, some of the townsfolk looked at Eugene with quite a bit of concern, he was not making any sense to them, it was way too easy for her to hide away once she was sure the coast was clear she leaned on a tree as she stood on her hind legs and transformed into a woman.

“Melanie!”

She turned around, no one had called her that before, she had seen an older man, tall, slim, long, pale skin, raven shoulder-length hair, black robes. Her cold green eyes narrowed, how did he know her real name?

“I see you have lost your wand... Again,” Woodlock said as he shook his head. “You can’t do a lot of magic without it.”

Mel stared at him for a moment then turned around just when she was about to run off there was a flash of white light and another man appeared.

“Game’s over, sis... You’re not going anywhere!”

He also had a deep voice, he was quite tall, stocky, muscular build, a long black moustache that reached the edge of his face, short, trimmed beard, thick eyebrows, dark brown eyes, bit more colour in his skin than his dad.

Mel stared at him. “Who are you?”

“I’m your brother... Sam... Dad said he found out you were here and I offered to help this time.” He gestured to the slim, freckled, brunette younger man beside him. “Charlie is your brother to, piggy in the middle, as we used to call him.”

Woodlock gasped as his eyes widened slightly, now it made sense why she had not come back all those years, the Shadow Man had wiped out her memory.

“Melanie... I’m your father, I adopted you when you were young, come back with us, don’t follow the Shadow Man, he is evil! He won’t stop at anything until he gets what he wants!”

Mel shook her head as she backed away. “You guys are nuts, you’re not my family, the Serpents are!” She noticed Raven up ahead in bird form, he lowered down and dropped her wand, she grabbed it and glared at the three men in front of her.

“H-He had isolated a man who is now in a vulnerable state and- and is putting him in danger, ruining his life... He is about to break apart another family... He had left you out here, what kind of brother does that?” Sam cried, he looked down at his wand, he dreaded this moment but he knew it was important to protect the innocent people from harm. He had taken a deep breath and aimed his wand at her but before he had the chance to utter the spell she turned into a black mist and soared across the sky with a bunch of blackbirds and other black mists.

“Well so much for that happy family reunion,” Charlie said. “I’ll send an owl to the Captain, we’re going to need back up to help the muggle guard.”

* * *

As usual, the day dragged on for Cassandra, it was her punishment but the two of them voluntarily helped her, it would have been tougher if she was left to do the whole buildings on her own but Eugene being his compassionate self would not do that, he was trying to rehabilitate her so maybe she could earn back the people’s trust she was not sure how that was working out. She still got glared at by neighbours and strangers, the cold shoulder, whispers and the same old names but most of the townsfolk did not pay any attention to her, they had been distracted by the rumours about Peter becoming a serial killer so she was the least of their worries at the moment.

“Hey, guys how’s it coming?”

She snapped out of her thoughts when she had seen Lance and Eugene at the door, he looked exasperated it was another awful day for him, he’s had a lot of those lately. “What brings you here?”

“Ah, you know… Some of our most dangerous prisoners have escaped and Pete has disappeared again,” Eugene replied as he ran a hand through his hair.

Cass groaned and shook her head, the place had fallen into utter chaos like when Raps was Queen for a day. “Great now the Separatists are loose!”

“Uh, no they’re second dangerous… It’s some of the Serpents,” Eugene replied.

“What?” Meg gasped, her face paled at the mention of them. “How could-“

“They turned into animals so they could sneak out without detection or a guard would let them out,” Eugene replied. “We had run around the field trying to catch a cat, she slipped through a hole in the wall and by the time we got to the other side it was too late.”

Cass groaned. “That’s like-“

“Something Pete would do,” they both said in unison.

Lance laughed. “Ah yeah, funny how that guy is so much like him, Keira and Catalina could not stop laughing when we saw you all running after that cat, we thought it was a new part of the guard training for catching animals.”

“Glad someone found it amusing,” Eugene muttered sarcastically then glanced through the window. “You know, I never thought I would say this but I have been missing having those two goofballs around, I keep thinking Stan is going to come in any minute when I’m in my office… Still can’t believe the amount of damage Pete had done on his own, remind me to never make him angry again!” He laughed for a moment then became serious. “I’ll admit sometimes they have made me feel like banging my head on the wall but they were good guys…Some of them are just unbelievable, it’s a shame, they were actually getting better until this kicked off.”

Cass sighed as she pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear. “Well if I succeed Stan will be back on the guard very soon… Although I’m not sure how he will feel about seriously fighting Pete, he had always thought of him as a little brother.”

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh. “I know… It’s going to be very painful for him to see but the trouble is I don’t think he would even afford to quit like your dad did, regular guards don’t get paid as much as the Captain, his wife is just about making ends meet and he has a child coming up, there isn’t a lot of vacancies in town so he wouldn’t have much of a choice.”

Cass bowed her head, he was right, there was no way out of it, Stan would have to face the prospect of losing Peter like her father had when she was the “Blue Monster.”

“Anyway, how do you plan to get hold of the Phoenix Flower?” Eugene asked. “I don’t imagine it’s going to be easy with Spots on the loose.”

“Spots?” Cass raised an eyebrow, she had not heard that one before, she realised he was referring to the freckles, he had one mean nickname among the men on the guard which started as banter but she looked away as she thought of the times she had witnessed guys calling him that among other things and did not step in. She heard his voice in her head, the last time he had given her breakfast, she thought he was just cranky but in a way he was right, she never cared about him before, he was nothing to her.

‘The guys are always picking on me, it’s nothing new, don’t start pretending you care now!’

“You okay?” Eugene asked as he put a hand on her arm and looked at her carefully.

“Y-Yeah… Just thinking back on the days I was on the guard… I didn’t take much notice of it then but the bullying is not a new problem, it’s been going on for a long time,” Cassandra replied.

“I know, I can’t believe I just had to scold my men about it, felt like a school teacher or a care worker… We really need to work on our team-building skills, okay before we digress back to the flower,” Eugene said.

Cass breathed a heavy sigh as she crossed her arms. “It certainly won’t be easy but we have to try.”

“I suggest we wait for the fire to go down so we don’t suffocate from smoke inhalation or get burnt to death, you and Lance distract Pete to bide us time to get the flower,”

“We’re just taking a petal, Varian,” Cass said. “He would definitely hurt us if we took his whole flower.”

“What? Does the Phoenix Flower belong to him? How?” Eugene asked.

Cass sighed. “He is going to start the fire when he returns to Corona, I don’t know if he has any control as to where the flower grows, from his perspective it belongs to him to.”

“I mean technically the Fire Stone would be a stolen good so… Neither of those things is actually his, just like the Moon Stone was not yours to take just because Zhan Tiri said so,” Varian said. “I still can’t believe all this stuff is happening, is it me or do we just seem to go round in circles?”

“I hope this will be the last time we go over this but let me get this straight, Lance and I go to the Old Corona woods, find Pete and hold him up long enough for you to find the flower?” Eugene asked.

Varian nodded. “Yeah… You should wear armour just in case he gets mind-controlled again, he could hurt you worse than he did last time.”

“There’s still his new mates, those guys are sneaky like snakes, I almost had him last time but Shadow Man had taken him away,” Eugene said.

“We will just have to move quickly, don’t waste time trying to talk him out of it and back up, bring your strongest men!” Lance said as he lifted his arms in a pose that showed off his muscles.

“Okay so now we have a plan on what we are doing for Operation Phoenix,” Eugene said. “Team Awesome VS Serpents!” He put his hand out in the air between them.

“We’ll do it, their fancy magic is no match for the power of science!” Varian exclaimed and put his hand over his followed by Lance, they turned and looked at Cass, she rolled her eyes and joined in.

Meg breathed a heavy sigh as she watched them from the stairs, it was like they had completely forgotten she was there or not realised she was there at all, she was not bothered about that as she was used to it, people used to call her the "Shadow Woman" when she was with Shadow Stefan. It was nice to see them so hopeful but she could still not shake the feeling that tragedy was at hand not for Cassandra herself but no matter what they did, someone will get hurt. 

* * *

David breathed a deep sigh as he approached Stan’s place again, he still could not believe quickly he had deteriorated, from having memory loss to losing his consciousness also the sudden loss of his mobility, goodness knows what kind of stuff was in that potion, he could not for the life of him figure it out what could have caused it. He knew where Cass was coming from but he could not stop thinking about the many ways her hunt for the Phoenix flower could go wrong now Pete was in on it if it was true that he would be the creator he would fight with all his might to stop her. She seemed to have forgotten that her heart was hurt from the Sleeping Death, Peter would not know or even care, he was not the Pete they knew, that one would never do anything to hurt someone like that what scared him more was what effect the smoke would have on her after she got out of the fire.

“Lil? Lillian?” It was quiet, too quiet not even Patch barked, he entered the house, he was worried about her especially considering her condition, he figured she was upstairs. Once he got to the bedroom he knocked. “Lilian, it’s me, Dave… Are you okay?”

He listened hard, he was relieved to pick up on some movement and she opened the door, she looked awful, her usually neat hair was messed up, her eyes were red and puffy, she looked sick herself as she leaned on the door for support, he had known she had been sleep deprived since the beginning, her expression made it clear that she was not okay.

“It’s alright… We’re going to get through this,” David said as he touched her hand and looked at her in the eyes.

Lily sighed as she bowed her head. “Thank you, David… Are you sure about this?”

David gulped, he knew Stan was just barely hanging on, he had pushed through it hard the past week, he was not sure how much longer he could go on for. “This is Corona after all… Miracles come when you need it the most.”

Lily sighed again then moved aside to let him in. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-“

“It’s alright, Lilian… I understand, I know how you feel, when Cassandra was put on the Sleeping Death Potion I was out of my mind with worry, still do, to be honest,” David said. “It had somehow hurt her heart… I’m afraid that… Peter will hurt her, the thing is he has gotten himself tangled up in dark magic.”

Lily’s eyes widened. “If Pete hurts her too much, he could-”

David nodded. “She’s been having visions of him burning her with his fire powers, I would much rather she had help rather than go at it alone, I’ve been considering going myself.”

Lily nodded. “As much as it pains me to say it, Peter has not been himself at all and it does look like he is heading towards a dark path… Of course, I want to save my husband but not at the expense of your daughter’s life… I know Stan would not be able to cope if he had heard she died while saving him, she’s so young.”

David sighed. “I had tried to warn her of the dangers but once she’s set her mind to something it’s very difficult to change it, I suppose she takes after me there, we could get a small team together.”

Lily bit her lip nervously, she felt awful at the thought of those people being in danger as well as his daughter, she was still not over the loss of Peter, she missed him a lot to, the way he made her laugh when she was down, often with stories about his cat’s antics like stealing his ham, it pained her to even imagine him as the new person he was becoming, someone who was heartless, cruel and violent, that was not the Peter she knew and loved. She could not think what to say, be careful? Good idea? Yes? No? She glanced over at Stan as the life drained away from him, his soul hanging on a thread. Could she really sit by while a young woman and anyone else who joined her put themselves in danger to keep her husband? She had a bad feeling in her gut that someone would get hurt at the end of it all, she put a hand over her face and broken down in tears, she felt like a terrible person.

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay,” David whispered as he knelt beside her and gently rubbed her left shoulder. “We’ll figure something out.”

“You sure?”

“Yes… We’ve got plenty of experience dealing with these things,” David said. “We’ll save Stan just in time… Like Varian and Xavier saved my daughter from the Sleeping Death.”

Lily looked up at him with a puzzled look on her face, he had changed his tune, before he felt as hopeless as her.

“How about we sing that song again?” David asked. “That always got his spirits up.”

Lily glanced at him then looked back at Stan, she reached out and held his hand, his pulse was slower than normal, it scared her to hear his uneasy breathing although it did warm her heart a bit to see Patch laid down by his side, snuggled in his arm. “Remember me, although now the time has come to say goodbye, remember me, try not to cry.”

“Even though we’re islands apart you will always be in my heart,” David sang. “We can carry on singing this special song while I am away... Remember those we love never go away, remember me while I’m gone and the love we have will live on so until we meet again.”

“Remember me,” Lily and David sang in unison, Lily tightened her grip on Stan’s limp hand, she knew if he could he would have smiled or joined in but despite having a thick quilt over him, he was still chilly which was not a good sign, she could not understand what kind of concoction could have caused all these things to happen to him at once.How much time did he have? Was he dying now or getting close to it?

She bit her lip again and taken in a deep breath before she faced him. “H-How long did Cassandra last with the Sleeping Death?”

David sighed as he bowed his head, he was not sure it was going to be the same, although he wondered if something like that had been thrown into the mix. “Three days… Usually, poison doesn’t take that long to process but all that Hocus Pocus stuff is beyond me… The doc said he was unable to move because his nerves have stopped working as well as wearing his brain out to exhaustion, I think he could just about manage a few more days.”

“It baffles me to… How there’s so many that cause such devastating harm but very little that can fix it, I dread to think what kind of stuff Peter has been on,” Lily replied as she pushed her hair back.

David nodded then touched Stan’s hand and looked at him as though he was awake. “Sit tight soldier, we’ll have you back up on your feet soon.”

“Thank you, David,” Lily said again, she could not think of what else to say to him, she was very grateful for taking the time out to help her give Stan the around the clock care he needed and sought out a possible cure.

“You’re most welcome… Take care of yourself and the little one, I’ll let Mrs Potter know about your situation, I’m sure she will understand,” David replied as he put on a small smile as he nodded then exited the room, he hoped he was going to be able to hold on for at least three days, he breathed a heavy sigh as it felt like they were all going round in circles, just when they thought they got to the end of it they were brought back to square one.

* * *

Shadow was quite enjoying the quiet as he had driven the caravan, he was far out from the land of Old Corona but he did not want to risk losing his position from Pete's screaming, he shook his head as he thought that guy made no sense to him, he needed to toughen him up again. Failing to realise he had already broken the man's spirit with the gaslighting, he was so afraid to put a foot wrong and upset him he was able to force him into submission with guilt and torment. It was not hard for him to bring the ex-soldier back under his control after he lost his memory, he had him right by his side even if he wanted to he could not get away, he had already tried once and had his memory slowly wiped out. He pulled on the reigns to bring the horses to a halt then hopped off to stop for dinner, he pulled out food from the locker, he did not bother to go back into the caravan as Pete would still be fast asleep. He expected him to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next morning as he had gotten more shut-eye than himself but it was the main ways they had silenced him. He had just started munching on his bread when he had seen black mists appear in the sky then lowered to the ground quickly revealed themselves to be Raven and Mel. 

"We have broken out of the dungeons, it was pitifully easy, Mel had tricked one of the guards into releasing her," Raven said. 

"Meow," Mel joked but her laughter died down. "I know, every man or woman for themselves, it was my own stupid fault I got caught... I was too slow." 

"Why have you come back to me?" Shadow asked. "I didn't ask for you, anyway the plan was for you to stay in your tower, I don't need your help with this." 

Mel raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Last time you were on your own with Peter you had almost lost him, you're good at training him physically but when it comes to the emotional stuff you're terrible, you're too hot-headed to handle it when he has his... Moments, I make him happy, you've seen how much better he had gotten after I had taken him in." 

Shadow groaned so much for that peace he had been desperate for, he hated to think it but she did seemingly make him feel "happy," he thought the flirting was funny at first but then it had gotten annoying being made the third wheel but he had been pining for her ever since they left, it got too much for him so he knocked him out. He did not know how she managed to have him around for a few days, he was such hard work to keep under control if he did not want that stone so much he would have already given up. "Fine but I want you to cut back with the flirting, you're getting too distracting for him, I can't get him to focus if you keep coming up to smooch him!" 

Mel nodded. "Okay, I will stay back when you are training him... Where is he anyway?" 

"In the caravan, I've made him fall asleep... He was getting too much of a bother, crying over you and screaming after having one bad dream," Shadow replied. 

"Oh, the poor dear, has he been out of it all day?" Mel asked. 

Shadow nodded. "Yes, I decided to make him sleep through the hangover, he will get back to work tomorrow and this time no more screw-ups." 


	45. The Fears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay guys, I had a bit of a creative block and got super busy with work.  
> Thank you for bearing with me when I’m a bit slow, the subscriptions, bookmarks, kudos and comments! 😁  
> Here's a link to view the illustrations.  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/disneychick2020  
> https://www.deviantart.com/disneychick2020

Eugene laughed as passed Varian a high five, from the corner of his eye he spotted a figure up the stairs. “Oh hey, Meg, what you doing up there?” 

Meg came forward and leaned on the railing. “Oh, it’s nothing, just having a look around seeing what’s left to do tomorrow… I don’t wanna burst your bubble but don’t get too excited, Shadow will quickly find a way to beat you, just how do you think you will hold up for at least an hour Eugene? What’s to stop him from burning you both to ashes? He had almost killed Varian, it is very possible that Shadow could turn him into a killer.” 

Eugene waved his hand and scoffed. “Ah, I’ll figure something out, don’t worry!” 

“We can splash him with Varian’s water bombs, that ought to cool him down!” Lance exclaimed and laughed. 

Meg rolled her eyes, they were too confident he was not thinking things through. “How are you going to find him? You had been searching the woods for days and hadn’t found more than his clothes, every time you got close he slipped right through your fingers.” 

Eugene huffed, he did not think about that, he just assumed he would be back in one of the places he had already been in. “I’ll send scouts out to track him down.” 

Meg raised an eyebrow. “You know he won’t be alone, Shadow is a serial killer if he caught sight of those men they would not leave the woods alive… They will get killed just like the one Peter is accused of murdering or maybe get killed by him for real.” 

Eugene groaned in frustration. “Well, what do you suggest? You go look for him instead?” 

Meg shook her head. “He’s very good at covering his tracks not even the Aurora have been able to find him or Mel and they had been at it for ten years!” 

“Mel… Woodlock’s daughter?” Eugene asked. 

“Yeah, she got sucked into his gang… He has a whole process of pulling them away from their friends, family, pumping them up with alcohol and potions, wiping out their memories, training them in fighting and magic, leads them down a path that they think will make their destiny but actually, it’s for his own gains and when they have outlived their usefulness or try to leave, he kills them,” Meg replied. 

“Gang? Sounds more like a cult to me,” Cass said. 

“Yikes,” Varian added. “He’s really got himself into a mess, not even Zhan Tiri went that far.” 

Cass nodded. “True… All she had to do was push my buttons and twist things up to pull at my heartstrings, play on my insecurities.” She breathed a heavy sigh as she crossed her arms. “The more I hear about this Shadow Man the more I hate him.” 

“You’re acting very strange Megan, what’s the matter?” Eugene asked. 

“Hey, I could have kept quiet and let you run into there aimlessly, possibly get killed but just thought I would just try to make you realise what kind of person you are dealing with,” Meg said as she climbed down the stairs. “I didn’t know about those things until much later and I couldn’t just walk out and leave, I was too scared that he would kill me, I didn’t know how to get away from him, I had nowhere else to go! I had to fight! I had to run for my life, get as far away from Varderos as possible! I couldn’t go to Captain Quaid because he was gone and even if he was around there is no way I can see him defeating Shadow, he would have destroyed him.” 

“I don’t know, I mean he is very quick thinking and fit,” Lance said. 

“Yeah but that doesn’t help with the dark arts, you could be the strongest guy around but all he would have to do is cast a killing curse and you’ll be dead before you’ve even hit the ground!” Meg snapped. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking this is a game, Lance, it’s going to be a serious battle!” 

Lance still did not get it as he was still confident, he did not understand why she was getting so flustered. “Relax, Meg, it’s just Pete… He can’t fight to save his life, he was too sheltered growing up, he couldn’t have changed that much in just a few days.” 

“Actually, Peter was an orphan, just like us… From what I’ve heard he’s had it pretty rough, some of the guys think that the whole goofy guard thing was an act to try and fit in,” Eugene said. “Although that did not exactly work.” 

“I’ve never seen this side of him before but then again I don’t know him personally, Stan knows him more than anyone, those two have always been joined at the hip, maybe when he gets his memories back he might tell us if it is or not,” Cass said. 

Meg groaned in exasperation, she could not bring herself to believe they would be able to overthrow Shadow so easily, just talking about him made her extremely anxious to the point she could not bear to be in that room so she stormed out. 

“Meg!” Eugene cried, he was about to run after her but Cass stopped him. 

“Leave her be… She is still hurting from the trauma he had inflicted on her, I’m not going to go into details as she told me that in confidence and it’s sensitive but he had seriously hurt her.” 

Eugene nodded. “I suppose your right… I got the hint when she first told me about him, she said he had gotten her to do things that she was not ready for… I didn’t realise she was there.” 

Cass sighed as she watched her through the window. “She’ll be alright, she just needs some space,” 

“You’re right,” it was not often Eugene agreed with Cass but as he thought back on the time he was hit with the huge bombshell that his father was King Edmund of The Dark Kingdom, had a big identity crisis, it was all too much for him to handle so there was a much needed alone time so he could understand how she felt. 

“Thank you for understanding, Mrs Potter, I’m sure Lilian will be back as soon as this… The matter is resolved,” David said as he exited the florist’s, he breathed a heavy sigh, he hoped it would end in happily, it pained him to see the young woman going through the misery of possibly losing her love. She was devastated when Hughes suggested euthanising Stan, making his life even shorter than it appeared it was going to be. 

“You’re welcome… I hope things will get better for the poor lass, this should have been the happiest time of her life,” Mrs Potter replied as she held the door. 

David nodded, he was not sure how far along she was with the pregnancy but it looked like she still had quite a way to go, which he imagined was stressful enough on its own. He turned left and walked down the street, he had thought of checking on how Cass was doing, he was lost in his own thoughts he had not noticed the young woman that ran in the opposite direction close by until her shoulder clashed on his arm. His eyes widened slightly as he glanced over his shoulder to try and get a proper look, he instantly recognised her. 

“Megan, wait!” He cried out and chased after her. “Megan!” 

The Townsfolk looked at the former captain with a puzzled and bewildered look on their faces as he chased after her. 

“Megan!” He had spotted her as she slipped into an alleyway, the same one Stan had wandered into when he was brought back home, he raced to that spot and found her on the ground with her head buried in her arms. 

“Megan, what’s wrong?” David asked as he knelt beside her, he was clearly overtired from caring for Stan and her but he still wanted to comfort and support whatever she was going through, he put a hand on her shoulder as she shivered from crying uncontrollably. 

“I-I’m scared… Sh-Shadow is going to… Kill E-Eugene… A-And C-Cass… Or get Pete… To do it,” Meg cried. 

David nodded. “I know, I am to… I have been tearing myself apart as after all this is the only way we can-“ 

“Save Stan… I know but they- they don’t seem to realise the problems that could arise… Shadow won’t stop, he will attack us, they have no idea what they are dealing with,” Meg said. “Just what he is capable of.” 

David sighed, he had no clue on what was going to happen, he was reluctant to let Cass hunt for it herself but to hear that she had at least another person was going to be with her helped ease his anxiety another big worry was that it would come too late for Stan to be saved. He shook his head he could not dwell on those thoughts, he had to get Meg to calm down. “We just have to keep up the faith as they say… No matter what awful situations we find ourselves in we get through it, I am sorry for the suffering you had endured from him but one way or another his time will come… Evans was confident he was going to get away with everything he had done and look what happened to him.” 

Meg shrugged. “If it wasn’t for your daughter and Varian he would have but Shadow has been a wanted criminal for so many years, no one has captured him.” 

“Luck does not last forever and we have a special way of dealing with people like him, I understand your concern about Cassandra, I was scared about the idea of her fighting Pete,” David said. “Although if someone told me last year they were going to fight I would not have believed it, this kind of thing has never been in his nature at least I don’t think it has… Cass was a strong fighter though she is going to have to watch herself now.” 

“Yeah… I’m afraid he will kill her, she dreamt of him tying her to a tree and burning her to death… Varian has prepared some gadgets and gizmos so I suppose that ought to save her… Possibly,” Meg said. 

“Varian is a smart kid, he may not be very big or strong but the things he creates is unbelievable, I’m sure things will turn out fine in the end, they usually do,” David said. 

Meg nodded, she still could not bring herself to completely believe that but she knew it was going to happen, they were all determined to get that flower to save a life that was currently on the line. 

David had gotten himself upheld a hand out for her. “Would you like to go back?” 

Meg sighed and reluctantly taken his hand and followed him out, they had a walk through the streets which were usually quiet at this time of day, neither of them had spoken. Sometimes it was good just to have a bit of quiet, given you the opportunity to clear your mind and think things through, this was just the thing she needed so by the time she had seen Cass again she was less anxious. She exited the shop and strolled towards them with Jack by her side. 

“Are you alright?” Cass asked. 

Meg sighed. “Sorry about the stuff I said back there… I’m just-“ 

“It’s okay, you made some good points… We’ll give the men some ammo to give them a chance of survival,” Cass said. “Want to come and walk Patch with me again?” 

Meg nodded. “Yeah… Something to take our minds of this for a bit… I guess it’s been overwhelming for all of us.” 

Cass sighed. “It certainly has, just one thing after another here.” 

David nodded. “Take care, Cassandra… I don’t want you to overwork yourself and get exhausted, it’s like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.” 

“It feels like it… It was Shadow Man that had caused Stan’s and Pete’s sicknesses, the people are at risk again although we are at odds right now there is a bigger problem… A group of dark witches and wizards are planning to attack us, I don’t see him using the Phoenix Flower or Fire Stone for good Corona is still my home country so I’m going to defend it from anyone who threatens it, including them,” Cassandra said. 

David sighed. “I would rather you did not put yourself at so much risk but you know I am proud of you Cassandra, I mean you have been doing so well these past few weeks, taking your punishment, going above and beyond to help those in need.” 

Cass nodded. “Thanks, Dad, I’m proud of you to for caring for Stan despite having no previous experience and supporting his wife even though you don’t normally get involved with the men’s personal lives, you had struggled but you did the right thing and got help, you did your best to make sure he was safe.” 

“Thank you, Cassandra,” David replied, he was touched for a while he thought he had failed Stan, found himself wondering what if he had not given him those pills, would he have been alright? At least better than he currently was? He sighed as he watched the pair stroll over to Stan’s house again.

It was a short walk from the town, Cass pulled her cardigan closer as she felt a chill in the air as they got near it. 

“You sure about this? Aren’t you tired from painting all day?” Meg asked. “I could just walk him if you like, I’m safe while they are away in Amestria.” 

“I’m fine… I don’t want to risk anything with you, some of them can still be about, we shouldn’t have even made the plan in a public place but fortunately, no one else was there apart from us so as long we keep quiet about it we should be okay,” Cass replied then walked a bit further up the street and knocked on the door. 

Meg breathed a heavy sigh as she moved beside her, she glanced at her friend, she had a worried expression on her face as she waited for Lily to answer. 

Cass waited for a few minutes and tried again then waited a bit longer, no response, her heart sunk as panic had set in. Was she okay? Did something happen after her dad left? Did Stan die? She shook her head, no that can’t be it. She shook her head and tried to call out to her. “Mrs Bader, it’s me, Cassandra! Are you alright?” 

She stared at the door wondering if she should rush in or wait longer, she jumped when she heard Patch’s barking, she glanced at the window in the sitting room, he was on his hind legs with his paws against the glass and carried on barking but she still did not come to the door. She sensed a feeling of panic with the pup, it was then Cass decided to go in. 

“Mrs Bader? Mrs Bad-“ Cass voice trailed off as she entered the sitting room and found Lily on the floor, she was on her back, one arm out, the other over her stomach, her long brown hair in a tangled mess. 

Cass had fallen onto her knees as her heart hammered in her chest, she stared at her womb she had no idea what to do, Meg had knelt next to her, she leaned over her and felt her breath. 

“Okay, so she’s still alive… Hopefully, the baby will be alright,” Meg said as she backed up like Xavier had done with Stan she had put her into the recovery position. “She isn’t bleeding so that’s a good sign but we should still get a medic, my medical knowledge is limited to the basics I’m afraid.” 

Cass nodded. “You stay with her, I’ll get help!” She got up and rushed outside, Patch followed right behind her, she hoped there was at least one doctor available. She ran as fast as she could up the street back to the town, some of the neighbours had come out and whispered stuff about her but she did not take any notice, this was an emergency! She had the horrible thought that she was going to lose the baby or that she had hurt herself because she did not think she could live without Stan. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the man who had treated her after the poisoning incident on the fountain. He looked defeated as he leaned his head on his hand and stared at the ground. “Woodlock! It’s an emergency, Mrs Bader has collapsed, I don’t know what happened to her!” 

The wizard’s eyes widened slightly as he looked back at her, he was speechless at first but then found the words. “I-I’m not a doctor Cassandra… I can’t-“ 

“Well, you’re as good as, you do a better job than some of them… Please!” Cass pleaded, she had another awful thought… What if one of the Serpents had broken in and attacked her? She shook her head, no if that was the case she would not have just been knocked out she would have been dead… Right? 

“I can help.” A different voice had spoken up much to her surprise. Cass snapped out of her thoughts and looked at the younger man who was as tall as her, light-skinned, freckled, oval-shaped face, clean-shaven, blue eyes and short brown hair. He wore something like the Royal Guard uniform, a silver armour, a Phoenix bird embossed on the chest plate. “Name’s Charlie, I am a medic for the Aurora… I mostly deal with magical related illnesses and injuries but I can help with non-magical issues as well.” 

Cass gasped. “Thank you so much! Follow me, her home is just down this street!” Cass cried and ran back down, she hoped that whatever her condition was it was not as bad as Stan’s. 

Mel entered the caravan to check up on how the “Dragon Warrior” was doing, he appeared to still be peacefully sleeping, she put a candle down on the small drawer as she perched on the edge of the bed and stroked his hair, it was damp as he became feverish again and greasy since he had not washed for a few weeks, that was one thing that needed to be on the to-do list.“Hey, Sleepy-Head.” 

Pete groaned as he awakened, his eyes widened when he realised Mel was there lying close by him. “M-Mel... You escaped... How?” 

Mel giggled and rubbed his arm. “I had a few tricks up my sleeve and a little help from a little birdie.” 

Pete reached out and stroked her hair, it was slick and smooth then noticed a red streak on one side. “What happened to your hair?” 

Mel chuckled nervously as she slipped it behind her ear. “Oh, I’ve had it for a long time.” 

“It looks great,” Pete replied then cringed. “N-Not that I mean you wouldn’t look great with-“ 

“Hey, even with a scar over your eye you’re still sweet,” Mel said as she gently stroked his cheek. 

“Heh... Thanks, I don’t know how that happened,” Peter replied. 

“Shadow told me I have a bit of power but it’s getting worn out,” Mel said. “That’s why I-“ 

She did not get much of a chance to talk about it as Pete groaned loudly as he hunched up, he moved his hand from her hair and hugged his abdomen again, the painkilling potion had worn off so it came back with a vengeance. “Ahh!” 

Mel sighed as she watched him, he had gotten so weak he looked like he couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag let alone anyone else. He coughed loudly, he looked pale, she started to wonder if he was going to be in a fit state to take the stone the next day. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“M-My stomach hurts... Ahh!” Pete cried as he curled up. 

“Shh, shh it’s alright,” Mel whispered as she rubbed his arm. 

“I’m not a doctor but I’m guessing you’re sick from the alcohol... Should have been more careful,” Raven said as he had come over to his bedside. 

Pete did not reply just continued to groan and hiss in pain. 

“Do you think you’re going to be sick?” Mel asked. 

Peter, he could not speak, he continuously gagged as it was coming up again. 

“Here, use this,” Raven said as he passed a bucket to him. “I would rather not see it.” 

He had it worse than last time, as soon as he touched the bucket he threw up. She breathed a heavy sigh as she gently rubbed his back, he had only just recovered and he had fallen sick again, it did not seem to take much although the alcohol would have brought down his immune system, looks like it was not something he could just sleep through, it was a good thing he woke up when he did otherwise he could have choked.

“T-Thanks… M-Mel,” Pete muttered, he panted heavily, his hands shook as he held the bucket, he was scared, he could not understand what was wrong with him.

“I think we might have to postpone getting the Fire Stone for a bit, I mean look at the state of you… This is the second time you’ve been sick,” Mel said. 

“H-How? What did I even drink?” 

Mel shrugged. “Some beers, you have a terrible problem with it.” 

Pete groaned. “Shadow said it was my fault… I was too weak to fight, wasted his time.” 

“You just have to pull yourself together,” Mel said as she rubbed his shoulder. 

Pete sighed as he bowed his head, he moved the bucket aside and put a hand over his forehead. “Mel.” 

“Hmm.” 

“You don’t think I’m going... Mad?” He asked as he looked back at her. 

“No... Don’t be daft, you’re just going through a rough patch that’s all,” Mel said. 

Pete shook his head, he was in such a mess. “Really? I had just dreamt of being shot in the back by a guard... I’ve been feeling bad for a while, not just with the throwing up but-“ His voice trailed off as he did not know how to describe his mix up of feelings. 

“It’s alright, we all screw up sometimes,” Mel said. “Even Shadow although he doesn’t like to admit it.” She had taken the bucket and cleared it up with a swish of her wand, just in case he was to throw up again. 

“He says he’s the best,” Peter said. 

“He can be a bit of a show-off but it will work out fine in the end,” Mel whispered as she carefully laid him back down. “Relax.” 

“I’ve just gotten up… How long have I been out anyway?” 

“A few hours, you don’t have to go back to sleep… You get more of that than anyone, we can just talk,” Mel said as she softly stroked his cheek. 

“The guys didn’t hurt you did they?” Peter asked he looked up her fearfully as he noticed a scratch on her cheek. 

“They tried but I was too quick, those guys can’t fight their way out of a paper bag,” Mel chuckled under her breath and shook her head, it was ridiculous how easily she got out of their clutches as a cat, much more than she did when she was a human. She pulled her sleeve up to look at the bruises one of the men had inflicted on her which also revealed a tattoo-like mark of two snakes facing each other with their bodies interwind and forked tongues out. It was the dark mark of the Serpents, every member had one on their dominant arm, swear their allegiance to their leader, Shadow. 

Pete had let out a fake laugh, he was relieved she had gotten away without any serious harm but still could not shake the nerves, he had at the thought of fighting them. Would it get better after more training? Was Shadow wrong? He was not ready? The training was too rushed? Should it have been more than just a few days? “M-Mel… S-Sh-Shadow had given me a potion to stop… The pain… Now it’s b-back… Ah!” 

Mel sighed, she was worried, this was not normal, she hoped he would make a speedy recovery, Shadow was not a patient man, he was already unhappy with him, she put on a fake smile as she knelt by his side. “You can’t have another one just yet… Don’t worry, you will get better, lucky guy, you have me to look after you.” 

“Heh, yeah… You have always been there to help… Love you, Mel,” Pete said as he reached out and stroked one side of her head. 

She smiled and put her hand over his heart which was hammering, she giggled. “I love you most, I didn’t care that I got stuck with the dogs, just as long as you were safe.” 

“W-When… I get back to C-Corona… I’ll get the Phoenix flower for you… No matter how many guards the King sends after me… They will not stop me from… Keeping my promise to you,” Peter said, suddenly got a boost of confidence. If he had not just been sick he would have kissed her so smiled instead, her love was like a very strong potion that he just could not get enough of, he seriously thought she was his true love. “I won’t let any of them hurt you.” 

Mel smirked as she gazed down at him. “You’re so brave… Those guys won’t know what hit them.”


	46. The Aurora

“Has she been showing any signs of sickness earlier?” Charlie asked as he examined Lily to try and solve the mystery of what had led her to collapse. 

“I-I don’t know… I haven’t seen her since yesterday, she’s also pregnant… Not sure how far along she is, somewhere above twelve weeks judging by the size of her womb,” Cass replied.

“I see,” Charlie said as he glanced at her baby bump then pulled out his wand.

“It looks like she has taken a bad turn… Her heart was banging and her breathing didn’t sound right,” Meg said.

“Luna Lumos,” he muttered and a bright white light appeared at the end of it. He carefully pulled up the lids and looked into her eyes. “Her pupils are depleted and her pulse is speedy… Does she have any pre-existing health conditions?”

Cass sighed, she could not understand how she had gotten like this so suddenly, yes she was tired but not this much, her dad never said anything about her having any kind of health problem. “I-I don’t know… I don’t know her personally.”

Charlie picked up a stethoscope which back then was a wooden tube and held it over her chest. “Hmm, possible she had a very bad dizzy spell and passed out although she should have woken up by now.”

Cass sighed, she was very worried, it was bad enough with Stan down, she hoped she would wake up, she stroked Patch’s side as he whimpered. “Well… She’s been having pains in her womb a few times, I’m not sure if that’s supposed to happen.”

Charlie sighed. “Women can get aches, pains and fatigued when pregnant… If she does have a serious issue it’s going to be risky for her and the child.”

“I think she has gotten burnt out, she’s been looking exhausted these past few weeks, she’s been struggling to cope with her husband’s sickness and this, reason why she has taken time off work, she can’t handle it right now and she wanted to spend more time with Stan, her cupboards are mostly untouched… Looks like she hasn't been eating as much as she needs to,” Meg said as she came out of the kitchen with a cup of water.

“‘If that’s the case then it’s a result of extreme stress and anxiety which is natural considering her circumstances,” Charlie said.   


Some time has passed and then he heard her groan, he leaned over her. “Mrs Bader, can you hear me?”

Lily moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. “Wha- What... H-Happened?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Charlie replied. “I'm Charlie, a medic for the Aurora... Have you been feeling unwell lately?”

Lily was in a daze, she tried to sit back up, she still felt giddy.

“Oh, careful, don’t make any sudden moves otherwise you will get dizzy again,” Charlie said as he laid her back down. “Best you stay down for a bit, give your head a chance to adapt.” 

“I-I don’t know… I-I felt so… Giddy and- and b-breathless,” Lily panted as though she had just run across the street, she held a hand to her chest, it felt sore. “I-Is it n-normal… For this,” she asked as she touched her womb.

Charlie sighed, he was afraid the little one was not going to survive to birth with the way she was struggling so much with her health but there was nothing he could really do to save it, sadly, he bit his lip as he pondered whether it was the right time to tell her that. “Women can get a bit light-headed at times during the pregnancy but not like this… Do you often feel dizzy or faint?”

“S-Sometimes… It… It usually passes but it’s… Getting w-worse,” Lily said, she was breathing unusually heavily and sweated even though the temperature was cool. “I guess… It’s my… F-Fault for… Not eating or sleeping... Enough… W-Will the… B-baby be okay?”

Charlie breathed a heavy sigh as he hung his head, there was a part of him that wanted to say her baby would be fine but at the same time did not want to give her false hope, it was hard to tell since he could not see the unborn child, he picked up the stethoscope and placed it over her womb luckily he had found a heartbeat although it was not very strong, he could only hope he/she would pull through the next few months.

He bit his lip again as he tried to choose his words carefully. “The baby is alive… Although their pulse isn’t very good, hopefully, it will pick up as you still have quite a way to go... You have been struggling a lot with stress and anxiety which is likely what had led you to faint.”

Lily was speechless, the fear of losing her baby tormented her, she could not think, she tried to get herself to stop panting, tears streamed down her face, she shook frantically. 

“Mrs Bader, it’s alright… You’re safe now, try to focus on your breathing,” Charlie said, she was struggling, she needed help to slow down. “Breathe in.”

Lily had taken in a shaky breath.

“Breath out,” Charlie said, he tried holding her hand to comfort her.

Lily breathed in slowly, they went through this for a while, Charlie counted to five and led her until her breathing improved although she still cried.

“It’s alright, Mrs Bader… You’re not alone, I know you’re scared, I am to but we will get through this,” Cass said as she touched her other hand. She felt awful for her and like Charlie she was afraid that the baby would not make it, she figured they had been trying for a while but due to fertility issues and other complications had been unsuccessful. Her heart went out to the poor woman, she was terrified, an innocent victim that had gotten caught up in George’s mess.

“It’s not… E-Everything is g-going wrong!” Lily cried as she put hands over her face.

Cass sighed, there had been times she had snapped at people when she was in distress but she did sound irritated by her. “I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t take it to heart, she isn’t getting at you, she’s just shaken up,” Meg whispered.

“I know it’s hard Mrs Bader… We’re all here for you,” Charlie said in a soft tone. “It’s going to be okay.” He pulled out a clean handkerchief from his medical bag and handed it to her, he then rummaged through it to find something that could help ease her pain which was safe for the baby.

“Here, have some water… Just take little sips alright?” Meg said as she handed her a glass of water.

Lily breathed a heavy sigh as she had taken the glass, her hand was still shaky.

“Here is a calming draught to help with your anxiety, it is safe for the baby,” Charlie said as he handed her a small clear flacon with a brown liquid that looked like tea. “If you feel faint again slowly lie down or sit down with your head against your knees and take deep breaths take breaks and make sure you drink enough water.”   
“T-Thank you,” Lily said as she picked up the flacon. 

Cass bowed her head, she did not know what to say, she just stroked Patch’s side. If only they knew what was The Shadow Man had in store, she had a bad feeling she was going to get hurt when Pete came back and attacked them. She hoped it was just a severe panic attack and no one had hurt her by tricking her into taking a potion she had seen that done before but what was it supposed to do? What would have been the point? To kill her? To make her lose the baby? If that was the case they had failed but why would a person do something so cruel? To stop her from getting the Phoenix Flower. She had never known her to have an attack as bad as this one was, it just did not seem natural to her from personal experience.

It was then she noticed a half-eaten apple on the floor that Patch was sniffing, she got up and snatched it away, the last thing she wanted was for the little pup to get hurt if he had tried to taste it sometimes animals ate things that they were were not supposed to. She remembered what Meg said about Shadow being very sneaky, making his victims look like they were sick so no one would find it suspicious even if it came all of a sudden like Stan’s illness.“Charlie, may I have a word?” 

Charlie nodded and followed Cass into the hallway.

“I’m worried that this apple could be laced with some kind of serum that triggered Mrs Bader’s dizziness gets worse and hurt her baby,” Cass said. “It is really a miracle that he or she hasn’t died.”

Charlie nodded as he took a close look at the apple. “You have a point, this is the kind of dirty trick my sister would pull or one of her friends… I’ll have a look at it in my medical tent tonight.”

“You’re Mel’s brother?”

“Yeah… Though I’m ashamed to be, sometimes when patients learn my last name they get scared that I’m like her, I have to try hard to reassure them that I can be trusted,” Charlie said. “I’m sorry about my dad… He’s still in shock from when we had encountered her, we had tried to catch her but one of her friends had helped her getaway, Sam was going to paralyse her but he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it.”

“I imagine it is very hard to go against your sibling, my dad could not bear the thought of fighting with me so left the guard,” Cass said.

“Yeah, my dad was Captain of the Aurora until Mel went off on one… She was a good Aurora back then but I don’t know… She turned to the dark side, she was jealous of Sam for being put ahead of her despite supposedly having superior skills with magic,” Charlie replied as he crossed his arms. “She has tormented people with the torture curse to get information for Shadow and the imperious curse on some of our men.”

“Those are unforgivable curses,” Cass said as she remembered Meg telling her about it.

“Yeah… As far as I’m concerned she is not part of my family but dad is starting to think what if Shadow Man had put the imperious curse on her to make her commit all the crimes she had done but I don’t believe it,” Charlie said. “Meg left as soon as she realised he was up to no good, she should have woken up by now if that was the case… I used to love her so much, she was my little sister but now… I just can’t even stand her. She was supposed to be protecting people from the Dark Arts but instead, she immersed herself in it and inflicted suffering onto other people then left me to pick up the pieces!”

Cass felt a pang in her chest as she heard Lily’s hoarse cries from the living room, no doubt still scared about what was to come of her family, a part of her felt furious at the prospect that someone would hurt an unborn child. She hoped Meg could give her some more guidance like she did last time she had a scare at the florist. She pondered whether she should tell her dad about it or not, perhaps it would be best to wait for Charlie’s findings on the apple.

Charlie sighed as he returned to the sitting room to give her some more comfort, he tried to keep calm himself despite the concerns he had, Cass had taken a deep breath as she followed.

Meg had hugged her and rubbed her back, she did not say much but it seemed to help with her just being there unlike she knew just what she was going through with the baby.

* * *

“Here, have some water, be careful just sip it okay?” Mel said as she held out a glass of water for him. “You’re dehydrated from drinking too much.” 

Peter slowly blinked as he felt himself drifting off again, disconnected from his body. His blood pressure had dropped drastically so he could barely keep his eyes open. Mel put down the cup and shook him, she had to keep him awake.

“Peter, come on, stay with me!”

“I-I don’t feel well,” Peter moaned as he held onto his stomach.

“I know, keep holding on,” Mel whispered as she held his hand and stroked his cheek. He was doing fine before, how could he have taken such a bad turn? She sighed as she figured Shadow had put him on the Sleeping Draught to shut him up. She hadn’t thought much of it at first but now it worried her.

“Looks like he’s going to pass out again,” Raven said and lifted his legs.

“What are you doing?” Mel narrowed her eyes as she watched him.

“I heard it helps,” Raven replied. “Somehow.”

In a few seconds the dizzy spell had passed, Pete groaned as he put a hand over the left side of his face, he did not remember ever being this sick before not that he could recall anything beyond meeting them. 

“Hey, it’s alright,” Mel said as she held his head and brushed a tear away, she then helped him sit up and handed him the glass again. “Drink, you will feel better.”

“T-Thanks, babe,” Peter replied as he had held the glass, his arm quivered a bit, he felt refreshed with the cool water inside him.

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Mel muttered under her breath as she stood back up. “Watch over him, Raven while I have a little word with Shadow.”

“Yes, Mistress,” Raven replied and laughed which Pete found odd, he had never called her that before.

The moment the caravan stopped Mel jumped out and went straight to him. “Shadow, you had put him at risk! It was not safe to give him the Sleeping Draught, he would have choked on his vomit if he hadn’t woken him up in time!” She hissed in a lower tone so Peter did not overhear. “Then where would we be? We would have to dispose of him and start all over again, finding another diamond in the rough as you like to call it! You have to meet his needs properly!”

“You said so yourself that it is your job is to look after him,” Shadow said. “If you had done that properly he would not have gotten intoxicated that badly, what was I to do when he was screaming his head off?”

“Calm him down at least try to get him to relax, reassure him that he will get through this, he’s confused, scared and hurting right now… He has just been sick, taking him to the Poisoned Apple was a mistake on both of our parts, it appears he has an addictive personality and a lightweight,” Mel replied as she crossed her arms.

Shadow scoffed as he shook his head then looked down at her. “Don’t tell me you have come to care for him now, you’ve been playing him like a fiddle ever since you met.”

Mel narrowed her eyes, well she had to care for him, he was not doing a good job of it! Although he was the sweetest guy she had ever met, she shook her head to snap herself out of it. No, she only needed to keep him to get the Phoenix flower and get her revenge on the Royals for the witch hunts that had taken away her mother. The cause for the stigma of witchcraft that was so bad she had to lie about being a stupid fairy, she knew if she had told him the truth then he would have been repulsed, he would have heard so many different stories about wicked witches although she did live up to that stereotype. “I don’t know, he’s sweet, kind and never would do anything to hurt me.”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “Ah please, he’s a guy, there’s plenty of them and he can’t hurt you even if he dared to try, you are capable of inflicting much more harm onto him, he’s a muggle and you’re a witch.”

“I know, he’s like a lovesick pre-teen, he hardly knows me but thinks I’m his true love,” Mel chuckled under her breath. “Just try to remember that potions are not the answer for everything, he’s no good to us if he ends up dying before we get there… He will recover in a day or two, it would have been quicker if you had not tried to put him to sleep.”

Shadow narrowed his eyes, he did not like being talked down to by her, he was the leader he grabbed her by the scruff of her collar. “I’m not liking this attitude Mel, I was generous to let you get back with Pete, do not take that tone with me again!”

Mel’s eyes widened in shock, he had never been like that with her before. “O-Okay… I’m sorry, Shadow.”

“Hmm, don’t bite the hand that feeds you, Melanie… I had saved your life I could end it with just two words and a flick of my wand!” Shadow snapped then released her. “Know your place, I am your master.”

Mel’s heart pounded in her chest, she started to regret calling him out on his mistake, she bowed her head. “Y-Yes… Master.”

Shadow hummed as he crossed his arms. “Get back in the caravan and watch over the piglet while I get some firewood, tell Raven to keep a lookout for any Royal Dogs.”

Mel nodded then watched as he walked off, she glared daggers into his back, maybe it was time for the Serpents to have a new leader one that actually knew what they were doing and would not do something as reckless as giving a sleeping potion to a drunken person. Once she had the Phoenix Flower she would show him and achieve her goal to be the most powerful witch in the Wizarding World as much as that term annoyed her. She laughed as she remembered what he had said about George making the mistake of winding up his potential killer not realising he had just done the same thing.

* * *

Eugene groaned as he flipped through the growing pile of paperwork, he had just given Nigel a statement about the attack at The Poisoned Apple, which he said would be used in court in the event of Peter’s trial, searched for Shadow Man, Mel and Pete which unsurprisingly was unsuccessful. An hour-long argument with Frederic about Pete and Cassandra being vulnerable people who have been put into dangerous situations by actually evil people. He breathed a heavy sigh, he was worried about Meg, he only had a vague idea of the abuse she had endured while she was with Shadow but it looked like she was suffering from the scars. She had witnessed him slaughter people with a the killing curse and all sorts of horrible things.He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard several bangs at the door. “Captain Eugene!”

“Come in,” Eugene replied, it had been a while since one of the men came to speak with him, he sighed again as he thought of Stan, he missed their short chats and laughs. He hoped their plan would work despite Meg’s fears, he had to get Peter anyway to try and prevent another disaster like the Goodwill Festival.

“Varian’s here, he needs to show you his new Rooster,” Bob said.

“Alright, let’s hope it works,” Eugene said as he stood up and followed him out.

“You also have visitors to, they call themselves the Aurora… Like magical guards, I had seen one of them, they are just waiting for their Captain to arrive.”

“Okay, that sounds interesting, what’s their Captain’s name?” Eugene asked.

“Drake Mustang,” Bob replied.

“Right,” Eugene said. “That’s good, we stand a good chance having fellow wizards on our side, it’s no good going at them with swords and fists alone.”

“Ladies and gents, I give you the new Rooster!” Varian proclaimed as he unveiled his latest invention, it was the giant metallic machine with a sign of a rooster in front of it.

“Why are you still calling it Rooster, it doesn’t even look like one or sound like it, have you ran out of ideas? You’ve already done this,” Kiera said as she stood beside Lance with her arms crossed.

“It is a new and improved design, in the event of an attack it will sound a loud alarm alerting the guards so part of them can fight and the other part helps everyone evacuate!” Varian announced. “I am going with rooster because they are loud and alert which is just what we need.”

“Good work Varian, are you using the Qurinium again?” Eugene asked.

“No, I made a new compound which is similar but I haven’t decided on a name for it yet,” Varian replied.

“I’m not sure about this Eugene… I know Pete has done some pretty bad things but he is sick with amnesia and mood potion, he is being controlled by this dark wizard, I don’t want to hurt him,” Rapunzel said as she turned to him.

“I know, Sunshine but we have to try to stop other people getting hurt by him, I’m not entirely sure what Shadow Man has planned but I know nothing good can come out of it since it involves turning Peter into a human Roman candle.”

“Wouldn’t you need a magical person to test it out?” Catalina asked. “How would you know if it can detect dark magic?”

“I think we could help you there.” An unfamiliar voice spoke up.

Eugene, Raps, Lance, Keira and Catalina turned around to see a group of six men who wore a similar uniform to their guards, in the middle was the one they figured was the Captain. Red vests and black shirts, sliver armour with a big bird embossed on the chest plate and helmets. He looked like he was about in his late forties, David’s age, quite tall, strong, muscular, light skin, long black moustache trimmed beard.

“Ah, Captain Mustang, good to see you… Thanks for volunteering,” Eugene said as he stepped aside, Varian moved away from the Rooster and watched in anticipation to as Mustang pulled his wand out, it was dark brown wood and bit lumpy, Sam threw a plank of wood in his direction.

“Confringo!” Mustang yelled and broken the plank into pieces within seconds, which was enough to set it off as it rang out loud enough for people in the town to hear, red fireworks emerged from the machine it carried on for a few more minutes then stopped.

Eugene looked at his men, their eyes had widened and some of their jaws dropped slightly in amazement, they seemed surprised by how disciplined the “Magical Guard” were there was no banter or messing about, completely focused as they stood to attention at all times, seemed like there was a thing or two they could learn from them.

“Great, it works perfectly, thanks for doing the honours Cap,” Varian said.

“No problem, impressive on the first try,” Mustang said.

“I had hoped I would not have to do this but… It looks like we’re going to have another bigfight on our hands, do you have any ideas on how we could stop him?” Varian asked.

“We won’t be able to completely stop him from attacking you but we can hold him off for a while,” Mustang replied.

“How?” Eugene asked.

“We can create a dome over the island, that’s what we did in the last wizarding war,” Mustang said.

Eugene nodded. “Sounds like a good idea, bide us time to properly prepare, you have come at a good time.”

Mustang sighed as he looked down at his wand. “I have been waiting a long time for this.”

Eugene nodded, he was sure he had been looking forward to the day to bring Shadow Man down once and for all when he had taken up the role as Captain he never thought that one day he would be teaming up with a team of magical guards. If someone had told him that last year he would have laughed, he had always thought that witches and wizards were things of fairytales but stranger things have happened in the Sunshine Kingdom so he guessed it was not too much out of the realm of possibility.


	47. Healing The Pain

Cass sighed as she walked down the street with Patch who followed her, she needed to get some air anyway, it was getting too much for her, she could not take any more of the grief and stress. She doubted Charlie would have any sympathy for her if he heard about the things she had done with Zhan Tiri which was likely to happen at some point so there was not much chance of making friends there. She had a bit of sympathy for Mel, she could only imagine how it would have been if that ancient demon found a way to give her amnesia, that was a crafty trick to make anyone blindly loyal to him, depend on him for survival so they would be less likely to back out and find it easier to fight those they had loved.  


She was also afraid she was going to fail with her mission of getting the Phoenix flower, what if Stan died before it appeared? Pete certainly seemed to be taking his time, even if he did not, what if Pete had beaten her to it? What if he attacked her when she had taken it? What if a single petal is not enough to revive him? Would he get all his memories back or would it be too late for that? Their child’s life was now on the line to, was she going to have to choose between the father and the child? Could she save both? What if it was too late to save either of them? Would Lily hate her for failing? 

She pulled her cardigan as she let out a shaky breath even though it was not very cold her hands quivered. 

_ “Everything is going wrong!”  _

She wasn’t getting at her, she knew that but it still hurt, she wished she did not have to wait for Pete to come back or it would grow in a less destructive way. What would happen if the whole flower was removed? The darkness would have already come, would it bring out more? Either way, there was going to be trouble later. She could hold them off, she still was not entirely sure what Shadow Man’s plan was, why was he getting Pete to take the Fire Stone? How long was it going to be in his possession? A few weeks? Months? Almost a year like she had the moonstone? What was he going to do in all of that time? 

“Cassandra, are you okay?” 

She paused, turned around and seen Varian, she sighed as she bowed her head. She could not pretend to be okay anymore, she was clearly not, she looked like she was about to burst into tears herself. “Yes! No... I- I don’t know, everything is just-“ 

Varian nodded. “A nightmare, yeah... I can’t believe this is all happening so soon after the Zhan Tiri and Moon Stone fiasco but on the plus side, we have magical guards with us... They actually work better than some of our guards.” 

“I can believe that,” Cass muttered but she hoped they still had at least some humanity, she sighed as she thought of Charlie, he seemed like a good guy as he was nice and gentle with Lily but the anger he had towards his sister worried her. He sounded so hateful, kind of reminded her of Pete as if she could forget about him when they talked about him everyday. 

“I’m guessing you’re nervous about Operation Phoenix aren’t you?” Varian asked he would not be surprised after Meg’s warnings. “Eugene still wants to go ahead with it, though it’s better having the Aurora with him than just Lance and a couple of other guards.” 

“Yeah... If Pete doesn’t hurry up Stan is going to pass away,” Cass said. “Charlie had a look at him after treating his wife... It’s not looking good.” 

Varian sighed, he had a bad feeling that would happen to, he felt for Lily as he knew himself how it felt to be at risk of losing a loved one and being powerless to do anything yourself. 

“Hey, we started this thing together and that’s how we will end it,” Varian said as he touched her arm. “It’s going to be fine, we’ve got a plan and back up, Team Awesome is going to crush The Serpents!” 

Cass let out a half-hearted laugh, it was not often she had seen Varian get this pumped up. She nodded and smiled. “Yeah, we’ve got this.” 

Varian held his hand out and Cass hit it. 

“They won’t know what hit them,” Varian said. “Hopefully we will be able to bring Pete back to his senses to, I want to hit the Shadow Man at least once I promised Ruddiger will get him justice!” 

“I’m sure you will,” Cass said as she put on a small smile, a brave face while in her head she was telling herself repeatedly not to start crying, she had to keep it together. 

Mel ran a hand through her hair and breathed a heavy sigh, she was so tired it was middle of the evening but she could not sleep, she had to stay up to make sure he did not choke as neither she nor Raven could keep him awake, she had done all she could to keep him warm as the autumn air grew chillier. This was the worst she had seen him even when he had a bad reaction to the first pain killer potion Shadow had given him, at least he was not having a fit like he did with the first Hate Potion. She brushed his fringe from his eyes, she supposed the Sleeping Draught or the pain killing potion had done more harm than good. He was terribly pale and in so much pain, particularly in the abdomen area. She glanced at the thin red and gold streak in her hair, would it work?

“Looks like we’re going back to square one again, any other dopey guards you know of?” Raven joked. 

Mel did not listen to him, she tried to focus to remember the healing incantation it had been such a long time since she had last used it, she stopped when she learned she had very little left, what was it? Something about heaven and healing? Fate... Tide. 

“His liver is knackered, his kidneys are possibly bust to, Mel, likely from being overwhelmed with potions and alcohol. He is not going to live long enough to complete our mission, hopefully, the next one will last longer,” Raven said as he put his hands over her shoulders but she shook him off. 

“No! We’ve come too far to bring him up only to lose him now!” Mel cried as she blocked him from getting any closer. 

Raven raised an eyebrow as he looked at her with a bewildered look on his face, it did not make any sense why was she getting so attached to him now? Yes, he was a sweet cinnamon roll but at the end of the day he was just a tool, a delivery guy for the flower which did not pan out as well as they had hoped due to an unfortunate mishap with a potion. 

“Are you sure there is enough power in that little bit of hair to heal him? You only had a petal,” Raven asked. 

“I don’t know but I have to at least try,” Mel said as she put a hand over his heart, she closed her eyes as she tried to work out the incantation, she had taken a deep breath and begun to sing. “Flower unleash heaven’s light… Share your power with me, turn back the tide… Help me recover… Heal what has been… Destroyed.” She had got it as the streak in her hair glowed, red and gold lights moved to him. “Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me.” 

She gasped as soon as the lights had gone the strand turned back to its natural black colour, she looked at back at him to see if it worked even with her doing most of the work herself, she breathed a sigh of relief as she heard him moan as he awakened, he then sat up and stared at her.

“Why is it whenever I see you I’m in pain?” 

Mel laughed, he had just died and that is what he came out with, she stroked his hair as though he was her pet dog. “You have been badly sick but… I used the last of my Phoenix power to heal your pain, Shadow made the mistake of giving you the Sleeping Draught while you had alcohol in your system, you were very lucky, it had almost killed you.”

Peter’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped, he thought he was a goner then as he realised the streak was gone. “W-Wha-What you did that? You had given up the little power you had… For me? You really think I’m someone worth saving?” 

“Of course I do,” Mel said as she moved closer and put her arms around his shoulders. 

Peter did not reply right away instead he hugged her waist and cried. “Thank you so much Mel, making my pains stop... Shadow tries but it doesn’t always work.” 

“I know Honey, he has done it wrong... I’m here now, I can help you, I don’t let anyone hurt you again,” Mel said as she stroked his hair until he backed away and surprised her with a kiss and she kissed him back. 

Raven shifted awkwardly where he was seated as they continued, she had been playing him for a sap since the start why did she get so upset about losing him? Did she actually love him in her own twisted way or just trying to keep him up until she got the flower? He thought it was likely the latter but she was such a great actress it was hard for him to tell when she was herself or a character, he shook his head, he did not want to watch them this time.

Once he was out Mel backed up, she knew just a few kisses would be enough to make the birdman want to leave. She turned on her side and looked at Pete as he just caught his breath. “After you get the Fire Stone we should run away together... We would be free to do our own thing.. It’s his fault you got so badly sick, do you really want to work for a guy like that?”

Peter stared at her, it hit him as he made the connection of his condition worsening after the last potion he had taken. Often when he had one it did not work well, no wonder he was so nervous about potions but he always pressured him to take it. He thought they had a good friendship at first but then he felt like he was walking on eggshells but always ended up setting him off somehow. Mel made him feel happy, loved, some faith in humanity. He could not think of a time she insulted him calling him a baby or that one phrase he hated the most 'man up.'  “Yeah, we can do it ourselves, the fire and the Phoenix unlike him you actually help make me feel better.” 

Mel smirked, he was putty in her hands, it was so easy for her to manipulate him. He had fallen out with Shadow and fallen in love with her. She sighed, the silly man did not even know what true love was, he missed the red flags or maybe he did see some of them but ignored it to see the good in her which was not a lot. “Like the Sun- Drop and The Moonstone are meant to be together.” 

Pete narrowed his eyes and blinked as though she was not talking any sense.  “The what?” 

Mel chuckled under her breath and shook her head, of course, he did not know about those things anymore. “Never mind, it’s real late... We should get some sleep, we’ve got a lot to do tomorrow.” 

“Yeah... You’re right, sweet dreams,” Pete replied as he shifted back a little bit, although most of his pain was erased he still had a headache, he hoped he would get to back to a normal sleeping pattern soon. 

Mel smiled as she watched him drift off, it was a bit of a tight squeeze on the small bed but she did not mind it, at least she would be able to rest knowing he was in no danger of choking or organ failure, she allowed herself to switch off to. 

  
“What’s going on in there?” Shadow asked as he stood up.

“Well, there has been a bit of an incident... Mel had just healed him, she used the last of her Phoenix power,” Raven said. “She seems to care a lot for him now... The first thing they did when he came round was make out.” 

“It’s not like her to concern herself so much about a guy and she has been with a few,” Shadow said. “She’s just going to play with him once she gets bored he will be dumped like a ragged doll and it will be off to the next one… It’s just a bit of fun to her.” 

Raven sighed as he sat on the other side of the fire. “I know they are both unhinged but she was really upset when he got worse, I think she is starting to actually like-like him, you know?” 

“Haha no, she does not feel love, if she did really love him she would have let him go before now but one thing they have in common is they have got a few loose screws like their parents,” Shadow said. “She is getting too rebellious for my liking anyway, if she does not start to behave herself she will be out.” 

Raven nodded, he had seen what happened to members who had let their leader down, they did not just get kicked out of The Serpents, he could not let them loose with all the information, he killed them in seconds. “Yes, Master… She is planning to use Peter to get the Phoenix flower to make her more powerful.” 

Shadow scoffed as he shook his head. “She should know that I am not one for sharing,” he glared at the flames as they hungrily ate up the logs. “She will work for me or she will burn.” 

Raven gulped, he had gotten very scary over these past few weeks, he felt torn between the two. “Hey, let’s not be too hasty, I mean she has been very loyal to you, couldn’t you just… I don’t know, let her have a bit of the flower?” 

Shadow snarled as he glared at him. “Whose side are you on bird brain?” 

Raven frozen up, he had never called him that before and it… Hurt a bit, he sighed as he bowed his head. “Shadow… Look we’re about to be going against the Aurora, they are going to collaborate with the muggle guard, you need all the help you can get and well, it is kinda… Uh, well it was not her fault that-” 

“I would choose your next words carefully or you will not be going back to Corona!” Shadow snapped as he aimed his wand at him. 

“Okay, okay, I won’t say another thing about it,” Raven said as he held his hands up. 

Shadow growled as he put his wand back in his jacket pocket and glared at the window where Mel and Pete were, he would let them have their ‘fun’ for now but one way or another he was going to split them up this time permanently. 

David flipped through his horse book but like the last time did not take any of it in, he was too tired and stressed out even though he had Cass back but he was still afraid that she would get hurt in the fight with Pete, it was going to be very intense. He was also worried about Stan, he was no spring chicken but he still had a life ahead of him, he felt awful at the thought of him passing away so soon. Would it be too late? There was his wife Lily, she was mentally ill with anxiety, struggling with the pregnancy, what if she lost the baby again? That would be terribly heartbreaking. He breathed out a heavy sigh as he felt awful for her, she did not deserve this much suffering. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door open then Cass and Meg entered with little Jack. 

He could see just from the look on his daughter’s face that it had been another bad day, she has yet to have one good day. Although it seemed like a stupid question he asked. “Are you okay, Cassandra?” 

“Yeah… I’m okay, thanks dad, I’m just tired… Been a long day,” Cass replied as she sat herself down on the opposite chair. 

“Are you sure?” David asked. 

Cass sighed as she bowed her head. “It’s been a really hard day… Mrs Bader had collapsed, I got Woodlock’s son Charlie to help, he thought she had a panic attack but I found a half bitten apple on the floor.” 

David’s eyes widened slightly when he heard she had passed out. “I-Is she alright?” 

Cass shook her head. “Emotionally she’s very ill and on top of that is having problems with the baby… Charlie said the heartbeat is not right, I thought someone had laced the apple with some kind of serum to make her dizzy spells worse and hurt the baby.” 

“That’s awful, why would someone do that?” David asked. 

Cassandra sighed. “Maybe it was one of the Serpents, to stop her from getting the Phoenix flower or just a random person who was jealous that she had a loving husband and a baby.” 

David shook his head in dismay. “I’m guessing Varian or Xavier is going to look it over?” 

“No, Charlie is… I hope I’m wrong with that assumption, I don’t know how much more of this I can take,” Cass said as she rubbed her temple, she had a monster headache coming along. 

“I had eventually got her to calm down but she isn’t going to get better any time soon,” Meg said. “She’s had a hard time, everyone she has loved she had ended up losing them.” 

David nodded. “I know that feeling all too well, I had lost family and friends from Separatist attacks and almost my daughter, I was very lucky the Princess was able to bring her back.” 

Cass buried her head in her arms as the pain intensified, she had even started to tear up. “It’s just… Too much all at once… I haven’t even gotten over my own issues… I feel so lost dad.” Her leg shook which did happen at times when she was very anxious. 

David sighed as he got up and put a hand over her shoulder. 

“I know honey, all this chaos is very overwhelming especially after everything you have already been through but it is okay to not feel… Strong and mighty at times, I felt the same way before I left… I know things look very dark right now but if anyone can bring back the light it’s you.” 

Cass was surprised to hear her dad say something like that, before he was so scared to lose her again he was reluctant to let her go now he was encouraging her. 

“No matter what, I’m going to stand by you,” David said and pulled her into a big papa bear hug. 

Cass sighed as she leaned on him, it was not often she was being comforted usually she was the one doing the comforting. It was a nice reminder that she was not alone in this. “Thanks, Dad,” she whispered then backed away. “I’m going to go to bed, I don’t feel so good right now.” 

“What do you mean? You don’t feel dizzy to do you?” David asked as his expression changed to alarm. Was a new bug going around Corona? He hoped not, that was the last thing they needed right now! He sighed, that would be just perfect for a virus to emerge and spread throughout the seven kingdoms. The last pandemic was an absolute nightmare, that was the time he had lost his mother and almost his father who had the rotten luck of being stabbed instead. 

“Just a headache... It hasn’t even started and I’m already worn out, I’ll be alright,” Cassandra said as she walked out of the room. She did not even think of supper which also worried her dad, it was not like her to miss meals unless she was in a very low mood. 

Meg sighed as she rested her head on her hand, she hoped this was not going to be a regular thing. The last thing she wanted to happen was for Cass to pass out like Lily had. She thought Lily was sicker herself than someone trying to poison her. 

“Hey Owl,” Cass whispered as she gently stroked his wing, he was the best emotional support she ever had. Even though he had no healing powers himself he always made her feel better. She breathed a heavy sigh as she looked over the view through her window. “I don’t know why but I’ve been feeling so... Messed up lately, on edge, scared that something is going to jump out and attack me! I keep thinking that everyone hates me when they really don’t. I’m scared to hurt or upset people again... Afraid that Stan’s wife would get mad at me for failing to save her husband terrified that Pete is going to kill me or Varian... Fighting the Serpents!” 

“Hoot, hoot,” Owl flapped his looked straight at her, he stamped his feet to show he would be ready to scar the faces of anyone who dared to hurt her. 

“Haha, I know Owl but Varian’s raccoon was killed defending him, I don’t want to risk losing you like that,” Cass said as she petted his head. “I would be lost without you right now.” 

Owl cooed as he leaned into her touch, he was sad that she did not want him to join her in battle but understood why. With that being said if she did get hurt he would fly out and beat the Serpents to a pulp. 

Cass turned her attention back to the window, taken a deep breath and taken some time to practice singing the healing incantation. “Flower unleash heaven’s light, share your power with me, turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed. Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me.”


	48. Heating Up

It was the big day, it looked like they were back on track but they still had some problems to sort out, while Team Awesome was building up, The Serpents were falling apart, the odds did not look good to Shadow much to his frustration. They were already behind schedule and had gotten lost so as soon as dawn broke Shadow got back to driving, Raven leading in bird form as he knew the way very well.

Inside Mel and Pete laid together on the bed, undressed as most of their clothing laid scattered on the floor, had gotten frisky like they did after their first date, she rested her head over his heart, he stroked her smooth, silky hair.

“There’s been a lot of talk about me and my miserable life, what about you? We’ve been going out for… Almost a month now and I hardly know anything about you,” Pete said as he faced her. “I probably did but I had forgotten everything after the accident.”

Mel, sheepishly chuckled as she brought herself up and hugged her knees. “Oh no, I don’t do backstories... I live in the here and now, I can’t remember life before the Serpents anyway.”

“You had an accident to? Didn’t anyone tell you?” Pete asked as he sat up.

“He had shown me illusions so many horrible things happened,” Mel bit her lip as she pondered whether she should tell him or not. “Truth is I’m... A-“

“An angel,” Pete joked and he kissed her cheek.

Mel laughed, she was certainly not one of those. “No, no, I’m a… Witch.”

“Okay, that’s cool… Why were you so scared to tell me that?” Pete asked.

Mel sighed as she sat herself up. “There is a lot of hate towards witches from none magical people… They hunt us down like wild animals and burn us at the stake or run tests to see if we are witches, often gotten the wrong ones… Like, throw a woman into a river if she floats she’s a witch if she drowns she was a muggle.”

Peter’s eyes widened slightly, he looked horrified. “T-That’s awful… They just let someone die like that?”

“Yeah, people tend to fear what they don’t understand… My mother was killed in a witch hunt, burnt at the stake,” Mel said. “My father was killed by muggles to.”

“Oh no… I’m so sorry you had been through that Mel,” Peter said as he hugged her from behind.

Mel sighed as she leaned on him. “Shadow told me I had been beaten on a witch trial by muggles… When I was fourteen or maybe fifteen, I tried to make friends with some of the kids in the village.” 

* * *

“Hi, I’m Melanie… I’ve got magical powers to look!” Young Mel held out her hand and a flower had grown out of it, she expected the other kids to look on in awe but they were actually scared.

“You’re a witch!” One of the boys shouted out.

It was then Mel had started to panic, desperate to be accepted by her peers who were not willing to do so. “I-I’m a good witch… You can trust me!”

The boy looked at Mel with disgust as though she was a horrid beast. “There’s no such thing as a good witch... Dad!”

Before Mel could get away she was grabbed by large men and dragged off. “Get off me! Get off! No!”

* * *

“The men onto me and… They tied me to a stake, that’s how my arm got burnt,” Mel said as she held out her arms, her left was worse than the right where the mark was. “I kept it as a reminder of why I had become a Serpent, it had given me a sense of belonging... Why I need to keep fighting so this does not happen to someone else.”

Peter was speechless as he stared at the wound in horror, though he was curious about the snake tattoo was that their logo like the sun on the Royal Guards uniform?

Mel sighed as she pulled her sleeves down. “I thought if people were just going to see witches as wicked, sly and evil there was no point in trying to be nice to them.”

Peter sighed as he put he held her hand. “You’re so much better than that, there’s more in you.”

“You really believe that?” Mel asked.

“Yeah… You’re kind, beautiful, brave, you saved my dumb butt many times,” he said as he held her cheek. “More than I can remember.”

Mel laughed, she knew she was not blameless for his pain, she had taken his memories away, he had lost his agency at that moment as he was unable to think for himself, given him potions on Shadow’s orders that had also broken his spirit. Blinded by his love for her he ignored the things that may have set alarm bells ringing, he was coming more affectionate as he started to copy her behaviour. “You’re such a cinnamon roll… Despite it all, you’re the brave one here.”

Pete chuckled under his breath as he rested his forehead against her’s. “Hey, I wouldn’t have made it this far if it wasn’t for you, I was lucky you got out when you did, I would have died in my sleep, not a bad way to go but still... I want to live for at least another ten years.”

“True, after this we will be living happily ever after,” Mel whispered. “I light your fire and you raise me up.”

Pete chuckled under his breath, she certainly did do that, he thought it summed them up pretty well, it excited him to think of the future together. There was not anyone who he could think better to make a new start with, he no longer cared about anyone he had waiting for him at home as far as he was aware there was no one there anyway.

“Love you very much dear,” Mel whispered as she stroked his hair.

Pete sighed as he looked back at her. “To the moon-“

“And back,” Mel said and pecked his cheek. She then got up and picked up her dress. “We should get ready, I think we’re almost there now… I don’t want them to see us when we aren’t… Decent.”

“Yeah… That would be awkward,” he muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Any ideas where we’re going to stay? He knows your tower, he will follow after us,” Peter said in a hushed tone so he did not overhear.

Mel replied once she had slipped into her dress. “Yeah, don’t worry, we will be just fine.”

Peter sighed as he picked up his trousers and shirt from the floor, he felt nerves build up again, what if something went wrong? The Fire Stone rejected him? What would Shadow do if he caught them running away? Was he being too hasty? He shook his head no, the thing with the Sleeping Draught was the final straw, it was completely irresponsible but rather than admitting he had screwed up and apologise he dodged blame and gaslit Mel. To think he had admired him, looked to him for guidance and help for survival… He was hurting him the whole time.

“How about I burn him to ashes after? He could be a good practice dummy.”

Mel had frozen, she could not believe what he had just said, although he had said it before while he was drunk or as a wicked joke like the idea of poisoning Dan she never thought he would seriously consider it. He was not even on the Hate Potion, it seemed like he did not even need it anymore as he had come onto the dark side for real. “Wow, who knew you were such a dark horse?”

“Can’t be that hard… One way to make him see what it's like to be trapped and so weak your body give up on you!” Peter hissed as he stretched a hand out for some reason he imagined that would be how it worked.

“Sounds good to me,” Mel whispered and smirked, happy she had brought out his dark side again, the guys will be in for a big surprise back home. They will have a new leader sooner than they expected and Corona will fall for the last time. It’s something when one of your own turns against you.

Raven turned back into his human form and opened the locker door, he pulled out a little sparrow bird and hidden her inside his jacket. Panic set in when he had seen Shadow, he was further away, he had a strange look in his eyes as he stared up at the grey sky. He pulled his wand out, he stared at it as though considering what curse to inflict on someone. 

His heart sunk as he realised what he was about to lure Mel away to tear her and Pete apart, he leapt on his feet rushed ahead and jumped in front of him. “Master Shadow, please don’t kill Melody! She's so young! She was just upset by how sick Peter got! Think about it! Peter is in love with her, really, you know like when the boy horse really likes the girl horse and he uh-“

Shadow waved his hand. “We have already been over this Raven, she swore to serve me when I had given her the dark mark, she had broken that vow!”

“She hasn’t even done anything to you! Please, just calm down!” Raven cried. “Point is, if Peter found out you had killed Mel, his girlfriend, he would turn on you, burn you to ashes! Love even if it’s fake is a very powerful thing!” He put an arm around his shoulder. “Anyway you don’t have to kill her, you can blow this whole thing over very quickly with the obliviate charm… That’s why I suggested it to you because we were losing too many people, the killing curse should only be used as a last resort… Also be careful with Peter, not to overwhelm his body with potions and stuff.”

“I had seen that look in her eyes, she’s a traitor! What’s to stop her from turning against me again?”

“Wiping out her memory of it, just that part that had caused her to turn on you, that way we will have enough people to fight the Aurora and Muggle Guard, Peter will stay on our side… Seriously if Mel goes, he will go to!” Raven said. “This is a critical time we need to be prepared, most fall at the final hurdle we’re right in the middle! Please!”

Shadow sighed, the birdman was not going to drop it, he could not understand why he was defending her. He then turned around, he was about to walk out then heard a tweeting sound that came from Raven’s pocket. “What is that?”

“Oh… Nothing, just me, it’s a bird thing, heh heh,” Raven said as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I sometimes randomly tweet.”

Shadow looked at him sceptically, not quite buying it as ravens did not make a tweeting sound, they squawked, he searched through his coat and pulled out a small brown bird. “Oh, looks like you made a little friend, how cute.”

Raven looked at his master fearfully as he had a cold-hearted look on his face as he put one hand at the back of his head and taken the bird away from him, dangled by the left-wing, it pained him to see her struggle to break free. “S-She broke her wing in a bad fall, I-I’ve helped her recover, I was about to release her back into the wild.”

Shadow raised an eyebrow as he looked at him then released his hold on the bird, they both watched as she flew away. “Every little creature should be given a chance to live but freedom has its price.”

The little bird settled down for a moment and then a stray cat pounced from the bushes, sunk his teeth into her neck and swatted at her with his paws then carried her away.

“For the last time Raven, I will give Melanie one more chance if she complies I will let her live freely, if she does not she will end up like that bird… I will be watching.”

Raven gasped, he had no idea what had gotten into him to be so cruel, what the heck was he thinking? He stared as he walked away and sat down on the ground for a moment then shook his head, it was getting too heated, he had to try and cool everyone down before they went anywhere. He moved back to the caravan and knocked on the door. “Alright, are you two ready after your morning of mischief?”

“Yeah, just give us a minute!” Pete replied. “How did you know?”

“I had checked up on you… Looks like you’re getting very close and serious,” Raven said and laughed. “Just be careful alright? Remember what happened to your folks.”

“That’s quite enough, Raven… Don’t make them think of themselves as mistakes or accidents, they are adults what they do in their… Private time is their business,” Shadow said as he came over and leaned against one of the walls with his arms crossed.

There was silence for a couple of minutes then the pair of them had come out holding each other’s hands, he caught Pete looking at him with a cold glare as though he was going to challenge him to a fight.

Shadow sighed, although he found it very amusing that he thought he stood a chance against a strong wizard such as himself. “Before we go to the port key, I wish to apologise to you Peter for the mistake of giving you the Sleeping Draught.”

Pete stared at him, surprised that he had actually said the ‘a’ word but another part of him said that he should have known better than to risk it. He still needed him to get the firestone which he had to use to get another Phoenix Flower for Mel, in his eyes, she was the one who deserved its power.

Shadow moved closer to him and held his hand out.“Also for being harsh on you, I should have considered your struggle with the booze, let’s start over?”

Peter glared at him before he would have accepted his half-hearted apology right away but Mel had woken him up in more ways than one. He was tempted to try and strangle him but kept his anger at bay for the time being. “What about Mel? She told me you had threatened to kill her with some kind of spell.”

Raven bit his lip and looked back and forth between the three of them, this trip had taken a very bad turn. He had started to wish he had obliviated them last night in their sleep to quickly blow this over. “Why did I not do that?”

“What are you on about, Raven?” Peter asked as he glared at him then pulled his sword out he was just about to charge at him. “You wanted to kill her to?”

“Hey, easy tiger,” Mel said as she pulled him back. “He just has a habit of saying his thoughts out loud sometimes doesn’t mean anything.”

Shadow sighed. “Alright, I’m sorry I overreacted and lost my temper with you, Melody, forgive me?”

Mel looked at him up and down then put on a fake smile. “Sure, I know what you’re like, don't always think things through, that's what I am here for.”

Shadow also put on a fake smile and laugh then turned to Peter. “There, I have made my peace with… Your girlfriend, happy?”

Pete did not reply, he wanted to make it clear that he was not going to be a pushover anymore, he needed to put a lot more effort to gain his forgiveness.

Shadow sighed, he was frustrated as he could see what he was doing. “I have forgiven you for all your mishaps, some of which you don’t remember so let me refresh your memory… Leading the Royal Dogs to me, overdosing yourself with potions, insulting me, embarrassing me in front of the other Serpents, attempting to fight the guard while intoxicated and having a nervous breakdown!”

“Oh, you think having a bruised ego is hard, try having your kidneys breaking down!” Pete snapped. 

“That was your fault, not mine, you had chosen to drink yourself to oblivion to heck with the risks!” Shadow shouted.

Pete was about to yell at him then stopped himself and taken a deep breath to calm himself down a bit, he only had to put up with him a little longer then he could take him down. “Okay… I admit that was my mistake but it looks like you still have a lot to learn about potions.”

Raven looked back and forth between them, this battle of wills had him on edge, he really had him there as he partly admitted it himself.

Shadow sighed again, he did not have time for this… He would have to wrap this up as much as it pained him to say it. He supposed he could blow it over later, make him forget all about it. “Y-You’re right, we were all at fault for what happened in the Pub, I suppose... I had let my ego get the better of me a bit.”

“A bit?”

“Okay, a lot… I am going to try and be better, are you?” Shadow asked.

“Hmm, we’ll see… Because I’m such a nice guy, I will overlook this screw-up but just to be clear I do not want any more potions, do not put anything in my body without my consent, is that clear?” Peter asked.

“Crystal,” Shadow replied in a flat tone.

“Right, let’s get this over with,” Peter said as he held Mel’s hand again and walked off. “Sometime today would be good!”

Shadow growled, he could not believe how he had changed so much in one night, just what had Mel done to him? He turned to Raven who just shrugged.

“Well, you did say he needed to man up… As your advisor, I suggest you be very careful with how you talk to him from now on and other people back home otherwise you will lose allies, we need to stick together or we won’t stand a chance against the Aurora,” Raven said.

Shadow groaned and followed after the lovey-dovey couple.

“Wow, you really showed him,” Mel said.

“Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before I snapped and he had told me to toughen up, would he rather I was that weak, helpless, lost puppy? I know my problem was I had no boundaries which made him think he could push me around,” Pete replied.

“True, you have been through so much pain but now all of your hard work will pay off,” Mel said. “As will mine, finally get the respect we deserve.”

“Yeah, we’ll get through this together,” Peter said and kissed the top of her head. “You’ve always had my back so I’m going to have yours.”

“Where did you pick that one from?”

Pete shrugged. “I don’t know, it just came up in my head… I thought it sounded good.”

Mel smiled. “It does, nice to know there are still some decent people around.”

Shadow snarled as he watched them, jealous by the amount of adoration Mel had gotten from Pete and infuriated that he had the nerve to talk to him with such cheek, he would get back at him for that later.

* * *

Cass breathed a heavy sigh as she walked through the street with Meg, off to work again just as she did every morning, she glanced up at the sky, it was greying it looked like there was another storm coming on. Along the way she spotted a pair of familiar Aurora guards, she stopped for a moment, she still had a bit of time before she was due to start. “Charlie, have you found anything in the apple?”

Charlie turned around but unlike last time he did not appear friendly or pleasant like the last time she had seen him, he had a cold look in his eyes. Sam bit his lip as he shifted awkwardly beside him, he put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down.

Cassandra’s heart sunk, it was just what she was afraid of, he had heard about the crimes she had committed during her Moon Stone phase from one of the locals, a biased viewpoint and exaggerated. “Charlie, I can explain-“

Charlie waved his hand dismissively at her, “I don’t want to hear it, your stunts with the Moon Stone are irrelevant right now. I did find something in Mrs Bader’s apple, a hypotension serum that can be potentially dangerous to an unborn child…I know she was already sick but that just made it ten times worse. Sadly it’s out of my hands which way it goes, I may be magical but I can’t do miracles even potions has limits.”

“W-Who could have done something so cruel?” Cass said as she crossed her arms and looked around at the people who passed them by.

“My sister, probably,” Charlie muttered. “She’s a spiteful bit-“

“Charlie!” Sam scolded him. “You have no basis to blame this on her and she is a victim in this to now The Shadow Man had messed up her memory.” 

Charlie rolled his eyes. “Ah come on Sam, you know she is perfectly capable of this! Have you forgotten what she had done to me to get hold of the last Phoenix flower?” He pulled his sleeve up to reveal a long scar.

“What happened?” Cass asked.

“She had kidnapped me, hit me with The Cruciatus Curse, cut my arm and burnt my leg to make me translate the incantation for the Phoenix Flower since it was written in Latin when that did not work she used The Imperious curse,” Charlie replied and pulled his sleeve back down. “You have been wondering why I hate my sister so much, this is exactly why! She actually enjoys hurting people, that is not normal! She is evil!”

Cass gasped, she had no idea she went that far she treated him worse than she had treated Varian, she did drug him but did not leave any lasting physical damage, she was sure he would have been the same as Charlie if she had. “I-I am so sorry Charlie but maybe-“

“It doesn’t matter that she didn’t know I was her brother, she should not have done it to anyone!” Charlie cried. “Don’t try to justify it with your experience!”

“I know… I can see where you’re coming from but your brother is right,” Cass said though the memories of the time she kidnapped Varian played on her mind. 

“She’s out of the country anyway on the way to Amestria, she is his right-hand woman… She is capable of being cruel and rather sadistic but there’s no way she had the time after her prison breakout to see Lily,” Meg said.

“Who else could have a grudge against her for any reason? Perhaps a lady who is jealous that she had won Stan’s heart? Is also after the Phoenix Flower?” Sam asked.

Cass breathed a heavy sigh as she rubbed her temple, she felt her headache start again. “I-I don’t know.”

“You alright, lass?” Sam asked as the expression on his face softened.

Cass did not reply right away, it felt like her mind was spinning with it all piling on top of her, she backed away from the pair of them. “Uh… Y-Yeah… I’m fine… I- I have to go and paint another wall.” Before anyone had a chance to say another word she dashed away. She was in flight mode, she did not even watch where she was going so she had accidentally bumped into some of the townsfolk.

“Ouch!”

“Hey watch where you’re going!” A random man snapped.

“Stupid woman!” Another man shouted out but this one had afamiliar voice, she turned around and seen Rob. “Hope you’re happy now you had gotten me fired! You going around like butter wouldn’t melt, pathetic!”

Cass did not stop, she kept running.

“Cass!” Meg cried out as she chased after her. “Cassandra!”

She had eventually caught up to her at the building they were halfway through decorating. “What’s wrong?”

Lance, Catalina, Keira, Varian, Xavier, Hook Foot, Vlad, Monty, Josh and Bob pulling together to restore it.

Cass did not reply, she could not hear her over the voices that screamed inside her mind, it was a mix of Pete’s and random people.

_“She’s nothing but a no-good lying, cheat!”_

_“You don’t care about anyone but yourself!”_

_“Come on, Cass, a hunger strike is not going to help you.”_

_"Some hero you turned out to be, you begged to be on the guard, he had given you a shot and you screwed it up."_

_“You are a freak, Cassandra!”_

_“Freak!”_

_ "You're only sorry you failed."  _

_"I tried to warn you, Cassandra, this is what happens when you don't do what you're told here."_

_“Bitch!”_

_“Witch!”_

_“We’re all better off without you!”_

_“This is all your fault!”_

Her chest tightened, she felt had started to feel dizzy herself, her heart was banging, her head pounding, it was like she was on fire herself her temperature shot up, there was a tingling sensation in her fingertips she closed her eyes and put a hand over her chest as she backed away.

“Hey, I’m the one with the artistic eye!”

“This is boring!” Keira yelled.

“Come on Keira, stop whining!” Catalina snapped.

Keira huffed and the pair of them went head to head together like goats.

“Shut up!”

“Don’t tell me to shut up!” Catalina shouted.

“Bite me, Wolf girl!” Kiera retorted.

“Hey, hey, girls stop it!” Lance said in a raised voice as he pulled them apart.

Josh and Bob stood back to back with their arms crossed and argued over something but no one could hardly hear them over everyone else. 

“Cass?” Meg asked as she ignored everyone else and turned to her, the way her breathing had become heavy, she started sweating heavily and shook scared her.

“I-I can’t breathe… I- can’t,” Cass said in a tone that was just above a whisper.

“Woah guys, what is going on here?” Eugene asked as he came in right behind Cass with his arms out, he was snapped out of it when he had seen her fall back and caught her just in time. He gently lowered her down and taken a moment to just process what had happened then stood himself up. It suddenly had become silent and everyone stared at Cass. “I need the room, Bob do me a favour and get a medic!”

“Yes, Captain!” Bob nodded, he put his brush down and rushed out of the building, everyone else followed suit except Rapunzel.

“Oh my gosh, what’s wrong with Cassandra?”

“She’s had a panic attack, she thinks everyone hates her because no matter where she goes she gets abused either physically or verbally,” Meg said as she knelt beside her and carefully moved Cass onto her side with her right arm out and put the left across her chest and bent her left bent up. “She’s scared about fighting the Serpents and that Lil will get angry with her for failing to save Stan, her anxiety has been building up over time and now she has cracked.”

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh as he knelt beside her. “I don’t usually do this but I think I will give her a little break to give her a chance to clear her head.”

Varian stared in horror from one corner of the room, he was frozen on the spot, she seemed fine last time he had seen her, physically anyway. He thought back on the time a very similar thing happened to him during his time in the dungeons, it was terrifying. He had the misfortune of being with one of the jerk guards, Daniel, who just gaslighted him calling him an attention seeker as if he was faking it. Pete had just given him the cold shoulder, though when he thought back on it he was more passive-aggressive. Maybe he did it without realizing it, he shook his head he could not make that guy out. He had always known him as a soft touch goofball but it appeared there was another side to him, a not so nice one. He snapped out of the shock and shook his head, it devastated him to hear how badly people had been treating her despite her showing very clearly that she was no longer a threat.


	49. Lighting The Fire

“What was that you did with Cass?” Varian asked.

“It’s called the recovery position, I learned it from a friend or at least that’s what I thought she was… She was an Aurora until Stefan poisoned her mind,” Meg replied.

Varian nodded, he had taken notes to himself on how to do it in case he found someone unconscious but then another question came to mind. “Whose Stefan?”

Meg sighed. “The Shadow Man's real name… People call him that because they have come to fear him so much, it’s like a code name, I did as well but then I realised fearing a name only feeds the fear itself.”

“Yeah, that’s a good point,” Varian said, he was nervous about the battle against the dark wizard and his minions most of all Pete, he would have much rather avoided it but it just seemed inevitable at this point.

“I got one of the magic guys, he’s like the one we used before,” Bob said, he stepped aside to let him in. He was tall, short brown hair that was a bit messy, oval-shaped face, blue eyes, light-skinned and slim, he also he wore the silver armour which was dripping wet from the downpour in the storm.

Meg breathed a sigh of relief that it was not Charlie after their last encounter, he was a big disappointment, he had judged her based on rumours and probably being a muggle, compared her to his sister who was more of a criminal. She hoped this one was even-tempered, how he was still on the squad was beyond her. He was not stable enough to carry out the care he needed, come to think of it where have their own medics gone? She supposed it was either him or Dr Hughes even though his solution to Stan's problem was to make him die quicker. “Who are you?”

“I’m Harry, a medic for the Aurora… I’ve been told that someone has collapsed, there’s been quite a few of that going on lately, people dropping like flies,” he said as he breathed a heavy sigh and knelt beside Cass.

“Really? You think there’s a sickness going around Corona?” Rapunzel asked.

“Oh, that’s just perfect! The cherry on the top of this messed up cupcake!” Eugene exclaimed.

“I hope not but we’ll have to wait and see how this goes,” Harry replied. “Let’s see how her ticker is doing shall we?” He pulled out a stethoscope from his medical kit bag and listened carefully to her heartbeat. “It’s slowing down but steady, that’s good… She is still going to be with us,” he muttered then turned her on her back and lifted her legs.

“Why are you lifting her legs?” Varian asked.

“Helps with the blood flow… She should wake up in about 20 seconds to a minute,” Harry replied. “She hasn’t taken anything unusual or food from people she does not normally speak to? I heard from my brother there has been an incident with that.”

Meg sighed, figures he was also a Woodlock, she shook her head. “No, she had not eaten anything since leaving home, she just had a bit of toast, she’s been skipping meals and she had a headache last night, she's been extremely anxious for weeks now but gotten into a panic after talking to your brother, he triggered it by shouting at her unprovoked might I add.”

Harry sighed again as he lowered Cassandra’s legs. “Oh, I’m sorry about that… He hasn’t been right since-“

“He was cursed I know but that had nothing to do with Cass, he judged her based on rumours, he does not know her at all, he had no right to say what he did! If you are aware of how… Unstable he is why is he still on the squad?” Meg asked. “In his position, it makes him very dangerous when he has people relying on him for survival!”

Harry shrugged. “Cap thinks he’s better but he still… Has an unhealthy amount of anger festering inside him, anyway,” he pulled out his wand and held up one of Cassandra’s eyelids. “Luna Lumos.”

“Looks like Mustang and I will be having a little chat later… I don’t suppose your dad told you this but she had been put on the Draught of Sleeping Death a while ago and well, it damaged her heart,” Eugene said.

“Wow, she’s very lucky to have survived that, deadly stuff that is,” Harry said. “On the plus side, her eyes appear to be okay.”

“She was breathless and distressed when she got here when Charlie shouted at her she had gotten into flight mode and just ran… I think she’s had a panic attack,” Meg said.

Harry nodded. “Yeah, strong panic attacks can lead to fainting, she will be alright, albeit shaken and stressed, I’ll try and sort out my brother.”

“What can you do?” Rapunzel asked.

“Well, I can’t make her wake up but if she doesn’t shortly she will need extra help.”

“Hey, Harry… How is she?” Sam asked as he entered the shop.

“She isn’t showing signs of any serious illness so she should be okay,” Harry replied. “She had a bit of a run-in with Charlie… He’s not getting better, worse actually.”

Sam sighed. “I know… I’m really worried about him, he was until now.”

Harry shook his head. “We’ll discuss it later with Mustang, might be best for him to leave the Aurora and go back to Amestria.”

Sam nodded then jumped when he heard Cass groan. “Are you okay, lass?”

Cassandra’s lashes fluttered as she regained her consciousness, her vision was blurry at first but then cleared up. “W-What’s happening?”

Meg leaned forward and held her hand. “You had a panic attack, Cass, you have also gotten sick to exhaustion, Charlie had just knocked you over the edge with his outburst, reminded you of Pete didn’t he?”

“I’m confused what has Pete got to do with this?” Varian asked.

“He bullied her while she was in the dungeons, shouting at her and giving her mean spirited comments,” Meg replied.

“Oh yeah, he can be very two-faced like that.. Nice and friendly but also cold and mean like two completely different people, I once went out with him at the pub after work, geez the stuff he came out with was unbelievable!” Bob exclaimed. “He was horrible to Stan to and that was without the potion!”

Cass groaned, she was getting really sick of talking about him, every day he came up somehow, she could not get any peace.

“Stay down for a bit, give your head a chance to adapt, if you move too quickly you could trigger another dizzy spell,” Harry said.

“Cassandra!” A voice cried out but at least this time it was from a man who loved her.

"Cassandra!"

David dashed into the room, she was drenched but did not care in the slightest, he knelt beside her. "Eugene told me you had collapsed!" 

“I-I had a p-panic a-attack,” Cassandra said, her voice had suddenly become shaky.

Tears welled up in his eyes, he knew himself how awful panic attacks were, it pained him to see her spirit broken and disheartened. With one hand he held her’s and with the other, he stroked her hair, he was relieved that she was not unconscious for long. 

“There had been an incident with my colleague but rest assured it will be dealt with accordingly,” Harry said.

David nodded, he would ask Cass about it later, he waited for her to slowly bring herself up.

“Here, I got some water for you,” Varian said as he handed her a half-full cup.

“T-Thank you, Varian,” Cassandra replied and had a little sip, she hummed as the cold water felt refreshing on her tongue, she guessed she had gotten herself dehydrated as well.

“How is your heart?” David asked.

“I-It’s better than it was before Dad… I don’t know how it happened… I panicked, when I got here I felt breathless and dizzy, my chest felt tight like something was squashing me, I thought I was dying,” Cass said, she had gotten teary-eyed herself. “I-I am just so scared.”

“Oh, Honey,” David sighed as he put an arm around her and pulled her into another papa bear hug, he was glad she was physically okay but the emotional side of her wellbeing seriously worried him. "Let's get you back home where you would be more comfortable, yeah?" 

Cass nodded then carefully stood herself up, David had taken his coat off and wrapped it around her as the storm was still going on and since she had just collapsed he figured she needed it more. It reminded him of when she was a small girl and they had gotten caught in the rain while they were out, he used to wrap her up in his old Captain jacket before he changed into armour which he had done after almost getting stabbed by a violent criminal. 

"Yeah, rest up, I'll take care of Patch today," Meg said. "I have to go out anyway for Jack's toilet break." 

"Thanks, Meg, you're a great friend," Cass said as she put on a small smile. 

"Anytime, I'm going to be there for you through this, share the load... No one can manage with the whole world on their shoulders," Meg replied. 

Cass nodded, she supposed that was true, she had taken responsibility for Stan even though his sickness had nothing to do with her, for Pete's problems as she felt at fault for that to, she needed to stop blaming herself for everything that goes wrong in other people's lives. "You're right." 

Meg smiled as she pulled her hood up and braved the storm. 

"Two... Faced," Varian muttered, he glanced through the window as the storm brewed, there was a rumble of thunder and a few random lightning strikes, it sort of reminded him of another kind of weather-related disaster, the sudden blizzard that Zhan Tiri had brought on, he had a short flashback of the moment he was forcefully removed from the castle.

_"Quiet!" Stan growled as he and Pete dragged him down the corridor._

_"You can't just come to the castle uninvited and start harassing the princess!" Pete snapped._

_"I wasn't- That guy was wrong!"Varian cried as they got close to the door. "I wasn't hurting her, I was crying for help!"_

_Stan sighed but still looked irritated with him. "I'm sorry kid but she can't just-"_

_"No-No, don't start with the fake apologies!" Varian snapped and hit him despite the iron that protected his torso._

_"Hey!"_

_"I'll handle it, Stan, come on, we've got enough to deal with without you causing more trouble!" Pete snapped as he tightened his grip on his arm, opened the door with the other, roughly shoved him out and slammed the door shut._

Varian's blue eyes widened as he stared out of space, he realized that even before the Hate Potion thing he always had a mean streak, most of the time he was a softie but also times he was really hard unlike Stan he never apologized for the rough way he handled him but guessed from his perspective he was just doing his job. Being a Royal Dog, following commands from his masters after a while they become desensitized, some more than others so it would not have mattered if he was a young person suffering heartbreak and distress he had apparently upset the Princess who came first to them. What if the same kind of thing happened again with his dad? Would they still be that rough? Would Stan turn down Nigel's order? It looked like Pete's views on him had not changed completely, he called him a 'pipsqueak' as his voice had not broken yet and even before the mind control thing was triggered he was intimidating. The Hate Potion gave him the urge to bring his mean side out more, Shadow Man and the Serpents were an awful influence on him so it looked like he was going to be turning onto the dark side for real when he saw him again he was going to be at his worst.

* * *

“Well, here it is,” Raven said as they arrived at the port key point.

Pete narrowed his eyes as he looked at the birdman as he made no sense to him. “What has an old boot got to do with anything?”

“It’s a port key, we can’t ride all the way to Amestria a hot air balloon would be too easy for the Aurora to spot us,” Raven said as he knelt and held onto a part of the boot. Shadow had held onto the back then Mel and as soon as Pete laid a hand on it they swirled around at a speed like the swirly thing in fairgrounds. He thought it was just as well he did not eat that morning otherwise he would have thrown it up, he looked and everything was a blurry mess. Much to his relief, it did not last long just a few minutes but while Mel, Shadow and Raven landed gracefully on their feet, he crashed on the grass.

“Oh I forgot to tell you to close your eyes, it can make you dizzy with the spinning!” Raven said with a laugh.

Pete groaned from the throbbing pain in his head, he thought he was still in it as it appeared like his surroundings were moving around him.

Mel sighed as she knelt beside him and slowly brought him back up. “Easy, don’t worry, it is a rough ride but you soon get used to it.” She put an arm over his back and supported him part of the way.

Shadow shook his head as he watched them and smirked, he thought he was so hard before and crumbled down again. He could try to act tough but he was still the same weakling he found in the woods. “Let’s go.”

There was a part of woodland like Corona small homes were built in the tiers of the island. The one thing that stood out the most was the palace which was in desperate need for a revamp after being out of use for decades. The atmosphere was more like the Vardaros than Corona, people hidden away or lurking in the shadows. There were very few people out in the open but the word spread like wildfire.

“Shadow is back!”

“Shadow is back!”

“Shadow is back and he has a new member.”

“Welcome to Amestria,” Mel said. “This is where I’m from.”

Peter smiled as he looked back at her, excited for the moment they would run away, the life they would have together. He stopped paused when a couple of kids ran out almost banging into the pair of them laughing, they passed by a mural of a seemingly happy family, the mother, father, five children and a baby.

“The baby is Phoebe, The Phoenix Princess, she had disappeared after the Royals were killed... Some think she is still alive but I doubt it,” Mel said.

“They were executed?” Pete’s eyes widened, they were usually the ones who ordered the killing.

“Yeah... The people had enough of being pushed around by a bunch of fat cats so raised, Freddy Boy thinks he is doing just fine but he is about to face the same fate,” Shadow said.

Pete hummed, he did no longer cared what his plans were but played along anyway.

They had soon arrived at the castle, Peter sighed as he leaned on the railing, he was told to wait while Shadow and Raven made some preparations, the anxiety started to get to him again, Mel came up to him and put an arm over his shoulder.

“What if after all this it doesn’t work out?” Peter asked.

“Don’t worry,” Mel said. “You’ve got this, you’re now strong enough to take it in.”

“Really?” Peter asked. “I had gotten so sick, what if it happens again?”

“You won’t, I’ll be there right beside you,” Mel said as she moved him away from the railing. “I believe in you.”

Peter smiled as he held her waist. “All thanks to you,” he thought he had at last seen the light with her since she was there shining in the sunlight this was where he was meant to go.

"You know how I said I hated muggles because of what happened to me but meeting you has changed that, you're not all witch haters out for my blood," Mel said as she breathed a heavy sigh. "You're so loving and sweet, you see me for me." 

"Aww, glad I helped you with something," Pete said as he hugged her thin waist, whenever he was with her he felt a pang in his chest, he thought this was because of he loved her with a passion, she had blown his mind, he cared so much for her he defended her against The Shadow Man, he had chosen her over him in a heartbeat. 

Mel smirked mischievously as she put her arms around him, she felt odd like butterflies in her stomach as he held her, he was so cute maybe they could stay together, he was soon going to become magical since he had come more into the dark side she found him more attractive. “Ready, Dragon Warrior?” 

“As I'll ever be,” Pete replied and chuckled under his breath. 

"I can see the fire lighting up in your eyes already," Mel said. 

"If you love birds are quite finished, we need to get going, the curse on the Aurora is not going to last long," Shadow said. 

"You cursed all of the Aurora guards?" Pete asked. 

"Yeah, they're all mindless zombies now... Not much different to how they usually are but they're completely useless right now," Shadow replied but it appeared he missed one as a large man came up with a bearskin cape appeared out of nowhere, wielding a large sword. He struck at Raven but he just dodged it, Pete pulled his out and was just about to hit him but was pushed back. 

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this,” Shadow said as he moved in front of him. “Perfiticus totalus!”

Within seconds the man had frozen stiff and crashed onto the floor.

“Wow, you’re unusually merciful Shadow, usually you just kill them,” Raven said.

“I am feeling... Generous today although if he does come after us later I will kill him.”

Further down the corridor, they came across the entrance to Lord Rammstein's chamber which was now unguarded but still locked.

“Alohomora,” Mel said as she pointed her wand at the lock, it slipped open, she pushed the doors back and entered alongside Peter, it was a large dark room there were grey pillars along the walls, was a big gap between them and the Fire Stone which hovered over a platform one of the few sources of light, behind that there was a part of black rocks which spiked out. 

Pete looked at the edge of their side and the other. “How-“

Mel nudged him forwards and within minutes a bridge made of magical rock built itself.

“What the-“ Pete gasped, his eyes widened as he watched it grow.

“It only accepts someone whose worth lies far from within… The Diamond in the rough,” Shadow said. “A person who has little to no magical blood like yourself… I suppose that is to be expected from Lord Rammstein being a half-blood himself.”

“What’s with all the blood stuff?” Peter asked. 

“I’ll explain later, now go and get your destiny,” Mel said as she put a hand on his shoulder.

Peter had taken a deep breath and walked across the bridge, he reached out to the glowing red stone, the rock cage melted away showing he was accepted, he clasped it in his hand. He held tightly onto it, he raised his arm and within minutes sparks flew, beams of red light, the lightning went around him and flames erupted in the gaps on either side of the bridge. He closed his eyes for a moment, he could not believe he was about to do this, it was the moment he had spent the last few weeks working towards. He had no idea how to use it but guessed Mel would help him learn, she would soon be the Phoenix, he turned around and pushed it into his chest, there was a burst of red lights around him that bolted like lightning.

“Ahh!” He screamed as the stone attached itself in his chest a surge of energy ran through his body, his heart was bounding as it hurt so much but he forced himself to push through it. "AHH!" 

His clothes were replaced with a plain dark grey armour which would make it easier for him to hide in the shadows, his hair turned a bright red, there was a flash of bright white light and it was done, he panted heavily as it was a shock to his system but soon caught his breath, he opened his eyes the irises had changed into a crimson colour like when he was mind-controlled, he was ready.

“Well done,” Mel said as she slowly clapped, she smirked as she glanced at Shadow, she knew he was jealous that someone like him was able to get it so easily just because of his blood group.

Peter looked over his new look, he did not expect to change that much, he flexed his hand and a small flame appeared. He closed it again and made his way back to them but was cut off when a puff of smoke appeared in front of him, a man he had never seen before but Mel had.

“Release the stone lad, you have no idea what you are dealing with!” Woodlock cried, he held his wand out at him.

Pete’s eyes narrowed, he growled furious with this stranger who dared to try and attack him, take away the power he had just received, he felt his temperature skyrocket, he burst into flames as he pushed him back. “Neither do you!”

Woodlock hissed as his left arm got caught in one of the flames, he pushed his pain aside and stood himself up as Shadow stood over him he flicked his wand at him, the pair of them duelled, his wand had given out a red light while Shadow’s was green, back and forth they hit each other for a few minutes as Pete was blasting more flames everywhere. 

“Crucio!” Shadow hissed which made the older man crumple on the ground in agony as he loomed over him with a wand pointed in his face.

"AHHH!" Woodlock's screams echoed throughout the room as he felt as though he was burning all over, Shadow smirked as he watched him squirm and coil, suffer with the intense agony. "AHHH!" 

After a few minutes, he removed his wand and knelt beside him.“I’m only sparing your life, for now, to deliver a little message to the Captain, he built the walls to challenge my strength, well… I’m here to play his game, tell him he can bring his strongest men I’m ready... You fool, thinking you could take us on by yourself.”

Woodlock coughed roughly as the smoke had gotten into his chest, his heart sunk as he watched the Serpents get away with his daughter again, he had just been tortured and it did not seem to bother her in the slightest, frustrated that the Aurora failed to stop them from taking the stone in the first place, with a shaking arm he picked up his wand, gripped onto a rock to help get himself up, with a flick of his wand he brought up a bright white light and apparated back to Corona. 

* * *

The air was tense in the Espinosa household, just like it had been in the Bader's, David sat on the edge of her bed and gently stroked his daughter’s hair as she wept loudly.

“I- I keep thinking everyone hates me... I-I’m scared that I’m going to upset people again, M-Mrs Bader will hate me if... If I fail to save Stan!” Cass cried.

“No, no... We don't hate you, some people won’t get along with you but it's them not you,” David said. “Lilian won’t hate you if you don’t save Stan, she has been afraid of you getting hurt like me.”

Cass groaned as she covered her face with her hands over her face and sunk more in her bed. "I'm such a loser." 

“You’re not a loser, you’re someone who is struggling to come to terms with what has happened,” David said he kissed the top of her head as he cuddled her. “I know I haven’t handled your well-being very well so far but I’m going to do better... I promise.”

Cass nodded. “It’s just I feel like... I’m walking on eggshells around everyone all of the time... Like Charlie was okay at first but he had just completely turned on me this morning.”

"What happened?" David asked. 

"I-I had seen him and his brother on the way to work, I asked him about the apple... He blamed his sister, he was told no by Meg and Sam but when I tried to talk to him again he snapped at me, told me about a time she had tortured him for an incantation translation saying I shouldn't try to justify her actions with my experience which I wasn't, he reminded me of Pete... As if I could forget him, every damn day it's Pete this, Pete that, Pete, Pete, Pete!" Cass breathed an exasperated sigh. "I hear his voice along with others over and over again, I can't go a night without nightmares about fighting him!" 

David nodded, he could understand how she felt, it was all getting too much for her, he was saddened to see her struggle so much when she was trying to give back to her community and they pushed her back, it made the whole thing rather pointless. He held her hand and stroked her hair. "He was in the wrong there not you... Both of them, you have not done anything wrong this time Cassandra, none of this is your fault." 

"It is, I had taken the Moon Stone, I worked with Zhan Tiri, I ruined Corona! I had hurt Peter and many other people, maybe he's right to... H-Hate me!" Cass cried. 

"No, no... Even if they do, it's their problem, not yours," David said as he held her hand. "You're pushing yourself too much, holding the weight of the world on your shoulders." 

"I-I can't stop it... No matter what I do people will still hate me, although people like Mrs Bader was nice to me I can't help but think they were just being that- nice... I was afraid Meg would hate me for what I had done but she didn't but Charlie turned on me," Cass said. "I'm scared of upsetting someone again... I've been trying to make friends but when they hear about that they turn against me." Silent tears fell as she leaned on her dad's shoulders, he gently rubbed her's. 

This time David kept quiet, he learned from Lily that often just being there to listen is enough, you do not need to have an answer for everything, he thought back on her childhood days when she had nightmares and panic attacks. He always did his best to reassure her that she was loved and safe with him, scoop her up in his big, strong arms, wipe away her tears even when it was a hectic day at work some of the men were fathers themselves so were sympathetic even those that were childless were understanding. He had promised he would always be there for her and was going to definitely keep to it no matter what. 

"What if the thing people are afraid of happening, happens again?" Cass asked. 

David looked a bit puzzled, it was hard to follow when she went from one thing to another, he thought it was no wonder she had gotten so exhausted. "What do you mean?" 

"I-I snap again... Like Pete, the Shadow Man was enough to make him turn, what if he takes me to?" Cass asked. "That's what Charlie seems to think that I'm going to pick up on another magical artefact and go on to do worse things." 

"He won't, you're not going to be on your own, Varian will be with you... With Pete it's different, he is not as mature as you are, Charlie jumped to conclusions which was wrong of him," David said, he thought of having a word with Woodlock to sort his son out. He had just about enough of people ganging up on his daughter for no good reason. 

"I'm not as mature as I thought I was... After all, it was not like Zhan Tiri was controlling my mind like the Shadow Man has done to Pete by removing his memories, the anger, hate, the desire for revenge, hunger for power was already there inside of me... Zhan Tiri had just given me a nudge to further encourage me to act on it," Cass said. 

"Well, you're getting there, I know you're not going to do any of those things again," David said. 

"How do you know?" Cass asked. 

"She was the one who had pulled it out of you so all those dark emotions are gone," David replied, he sighed as he noticed the tired look in her eyes and carefully lowered her back down. "You're completely exhausted, try to relax, get some rest... Would you like a cuppa?" 

Cass nodded. "Yeah, thanks, dad." 

"No problem," David replied and got himself up, he had taken one last look at her as she had breathed out a heavy sigh, he hoped things would start to look up for her soon, people would learn to start treating her better but there was another big worry, the inevitable battle against Peter and the Serpents. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, 49 chapters! I never expected it to go on for this long, I couldn't have just left it with the George story line, could I?  
> Thank you for sticking with me with this roller coaster of a story with so many twists and turns, I really appreciate your support in following this, the kudos and bookmarks. I hope you will continue to enjoy this fanfic and satisfied with the ending when I eventually get there.


	50. Lightning

"Lil? Lily?" Meg said as she entered the room, her heart sunk when she heard her crying. She joined the sitting room and seen her on the floor, hunched up in a corner, rocking and gripping her hair. Patch whimpered as he worriedly looked at his human friend but was unsure what to do. Meg knelt beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. She supposed she had just gotten some bad news from Charlie.  
She was terrified that someone was out to get at her, what would become of her baby. She had not been out for days, too scared to leave Stan. She gulped as she thought maybe he had just passed onto the other side. It pained her to see her in such a terrible state. It reminded her of herself when she was pregnant with Stefan's baby, which appeared to be unexpected, though she did not know what he thought was going to happen to her when he did that, when she was mourning her loss, he abandoned her to go drinking with the guys. She shook her head. She had to stop herself from dwindling into that. She wished Charlie had done the same that guy had an unhealthy obsession with his sister; he could not stop bringing her up even when she was not relevant. "Lily... What's wrong?"   
Lily whimpered, everything in her body hurt so badly, she slowly lifted her head and looked at her. "I-I'm s- scared... S-Stan is dying, and s-someone is t-trying to kk-kill my baby!"   
Meg sighed. She was breaking down. She hoped the Aurora would be successful in catching the culprit, but that did not seem likely. "H-How is he or she now?"   
"I-I don't know... What if he or she doesn't make it? We should have just given up after last time I miscarried!" Lily cried as she rested her head on her hand.   
Meg found herself stuck, what could she say to that? She couldn't precisely promise it would be okay. The poor woman had rotten luck. "Hey, I'm so sorry that this happened to you, but I'm going to try and find out who the culprit was."   
Lily did not reply. She could not think, she was in so much pain, Meg wrapped her arms around her and rocked along with her to try and calm her down.   
"Shh, shh," Meg whispered as she stroked her hair, she eventually got her to slow down and calm although still tearful.   
"I hate p-potions, they have hurt my friend, my husband and now my child who may not get the chance to be born!" Lily cried as she rested her forehead on her hand.   
"I know, this is a very upsetting and frightening time for you," Meg said as she had given her shoulder a gentle rub. Exhausted because it was too uncomfortable for her to lie by her husband in the state he was in, knowing he could potentially die at any moment. She helped her up and sat her down on a chair, she quickly nipped into the kitchen then returned with a cup of water. "Here, just take little sips and rest up."   
"T-Thank you... Megan," Lily stammered as she picked it up.   
"No problem... I know it's hard but just try to relax, I better take Patch out before starts peeing or chew on Something," Meg said as she got up and moved to the door. "Come, Patch, Jack."   
The pup and the older dog obeyed their friend's commands, though Patch was a bit nervous about leaving Lily, he sensed her distress, there was going to be a lot of cuddles later.   
Lily breathed a heavy sigh and rested her head against her hand. She felt so hopeless. There were times dark intrusive thoughts continued to torment her. It was not the first time either. He had always been there to reassure her that she was neither of those things. He would always love her. He would never abandon her. He was going to stick to the vow he made on their wedding day. She hoped and prayed that by some miracle he would pull through, that the Phoenix Flower would come in time. She got up and looked at the painting of the pair of them her friend Penny had done. She was in a simple, pretty white dress. He was in an old suit, he held her close, it was one thing that made her smile apart from Patch being cute, she set it down and picked up another one where there was the picture of her, Stan and Pete together smiling like it was the best day ever, which it was.  
She sighed again as she thought of their friend, she had been worried sick about him to, the doctor told him he had to stop drinking otherwise he would get seriously ill, possibly die, Stan tried to warn the Pub Thugs, but he did not even go to their place. She heard so many awful things about him being a killer, a 'madman on the pot.' She had hoped Eugene or some of the guards would find him, but now Frederic had called him a murderer she was scared what was going to come of him if he was taken to the castle, she hoped the Queen or Princess would talk some sense into him. She knew him just as well as Stan did, he would have never done that, yes there were times he was rather cold, mean and rough, but he was not a killer, it was just not in his nature. Lily missed him so much, the way he made her laugh with funny stories about his cat's antics like stealing chicken then demanding seconds for his dinner—cheeky chappy acting like he was the Cat King with his humble servant. A tear slid down her cheek as she rubbed Pete's face, she wished he had just come back home instead of continuing to run away from the guard then he could have been safe and cared for, not with a villain who was poisoning his mind worse than that corrupt guard had done. 

* * *

  
The four of them had gotten out of Amestria without any hassle as the Aurora guards were stunned and no one else dared even to attempt to attack. They were almost back in Corona, Mel and Pete hanged about in the caravan.   
"Wow, you look amazing," Mel said as she looked him over.   
"Yeah… I didn't think I would change this much," Pete said and chuckled under his breath, he had not yet seen the change in his eye colour but noticed his hair and the difference in clothes, he quite liked his new look, seemed better than the plain, 'old Pete.'  
"Red suits you, Shadow will be jealous now you're hotter than him," Mel giggled as she put her arms over his shoulders.  
"Yeah, his ego has taken a big beating today," Pete replied, he blushed, he never thought of himself as 'hot' he laughed as it sounded like a pun because of his fire powers and kissed her back. "After today, it will just be us… Alone, we will be free to do what we like."   
"Yeah, we will go while he and Raven are asleep," Mel said as she smiled mischievously.   
"They sleep?"   
"Yeah, they just wait until we do," Mel said as she ran a hand through his hair, the magic seemed to have done away with the greasiness, though he would soon start to smell smokey from the fire powers.   
Pete laughed, he still could not believe they had done that, suddenly had a burst of energy, they started kissing, and it led onto that. It all happened so fast it was overwhelming showered with all this love and affection. Usually, it was the guy who swept the girl off her feet but here it was the other way round. Out of all the guys around her who were born magical themselves, she had chosen him. He was snapped out of his thoughts when she pulled him into another kiss.   
"Do you want to do it again later?" Mel asked.   
"Y-Yeah," Pete replied, and he kissed her back and held her waist, they carried on until a certain someone came in to burst their bubble.  
"Uh, would you two knock it out? You're like cats in the heat can you stop kissing, for five minutes!" Shadow snapped as he stood in front of them with his arms crossed and looked at them with a cold glare.   
"Meow," Mel joked.   
Pete laughed and pretended to purr, which made her laugh more.   
"Oh for the love of-" Shadow groaned as he facepalmed and shook his head. "I'm going to start spraying you with water if you don't behave yourselves!"   
"Ah come on Shadow, we're all adults here," Mel said as she stroked Pete's hair. "You were once young and in love, yourself many moons ago, remember?"   
Shadow groaned. "Oh, yeah you would know a lot about that, wouldn't you? Any guy that comes your way you're all over them then surprise, surprise you get hurt!"   
Mel had fallen quiet. It hurt her like a punch in the gut.   
"Don't talk to her like that!" Pete snapped. "It doesn't matter how many guys she's been with before, she loves me, and I love her!"   
"Oh, Peter, despite your age you're still so innocent and naive… Let's just hope you haven't caught anything from her," Shadow said as he shot a glare at her. "Have I not taught you anything, Melanie?"  
"It's Melody," Mel said.   
"Whatever, anyway it's time to get to work, you can do what you like later but just don't come crying to me when one of you gets sick, or you get knocked up Mel!" Shadow snapped.   
Pete glared daggers at him as he turned around, he changed his tune though that was because he was jealous. "Don't worry, I'll deal with him," he whispered then followed after him. 

"Mel, we need to talk… I know I was jokey before, but you're going too far with Peter!" Raven exclaimed.   
"It's fine," Mel said.   
"No, it isn't… You're going way too fast, there was no need for you to do that, I mean you don't know who else Peter has been with," Raven warned. "Do you love him?"   
Mel was quiet as she watched Pete and Shadow walk away through a window. "Well, he has grown on me… When he's not throwing his guts up, he's fit and sweet."   
Raven sighed as he put a hand over his face. "I suppose he thinks you're hot to, but lust is not the same as love, why did you-"   
Mel shrugged. "I don't know, we had just woken up, and one thing just led to another… I know he is in love with me despite not knowing anything about me barely then again I don't even know much about myself."   
"I'm not going to stop you from being with Peter, but I want to help you stay safe… You're my friend Mel, and I don't want you to get hurt again," Raven said. "You're crossing a big line here."   
"Don't worry Raven. It will be fine I have everything under control," Mel replied as she turned to exit the caravan.   
"Doesn't look like it… You're in big trouble with Shadow, he thinks you are going to betray him, you're trying to lure Peter away from him to keep for yourself," Raven said. "I feel quite sorry for him… He's like the doll that's being pulled by a pair of kids."   
"He enjoys being with me more than Shadow. I am not stupid enough to give him a sleeping potion while he is drunk!" Mel snapped. "I put in the effort to take care of him."   
Raven sighed; he had mixed feelings about them being together. He had a bad feeling that one day he would turn on her if word got out that it was not an accident that he had lost his memory or what his 'medicines' really were. After seeing how he had lashed out at Shadow, he gulped, hoping he was not going to get fired up again during training.   
"He wants to stay with me because I make him feel loved and safe, he trusts me more than Shadow," Mel said then got up and exited the caravan, she could not trust Raven with her plans, his loyalties lied with Shadow, she had to get away earlier than the night. She ran down the path to see how Pete was doing but then suddenly collapsed onto the ground.   
Raven loomed over her, he kept his wand aimed at her and watched as she closed her eyes. "Obliviate," he whispered, a silver mist went over her head, he was careful only to remove the memory of her return and their fight. He picked her up and carried her back to the caravan.   
"What the hell are you doing?" Shadow screamed in the distance, Raven poked his head through the top half of the door, a blast of flame shot up in the air.   
"Oh no," Raven gasped, the training had not gotten off to a good start, he drew his wand as he jumped out, had taken away her wand and locked the door, so Mel could not interfere again then rushed down the path. 

"It's over Shadow or whatever your actual name is, Mel, is going to take over the Serpents, they need a better leader!" Pete yelled, his hands covered in fire even his hair turned into flames, he had taken a deep breath and repeated the incarnation he had just taught him. "Hellfire light up the night, dark fire destroy everything in sight, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, release the spirit, release the spirit!"  
"Have you gone insane?" Shadow shouted as he stared at him wide-eyed, he did not expect him to turn this quickly as flames had drawn closer to him, he drew his wand and aimed for the middle to give him a way out. "Aqua!" Water squirted out, but it was not enough on its own to break it down, just his luck Raven was around as with a swish of his hand he was able to extinguish the whole thing. Shadow growled and snarled at Pete as he stood there doing the same with him; they were about to break out into another fight for dominance.   
"Perfifcus totalus!"Shadow had dropped to the ground, stunned.   
"Thanks for your help, Raven," Pete said, a scary wicked smirk appeared on his face as he grew a fireball, he just made it a lot easier for him to attack again.   
"Perficitus totalus!" Raven struck just in time before the flames flew out, he panted as he looked over the pair of them, these lot wore him out, he was frustrated with the way they started to want to kill each other, tearing themselves apart while their rivals were building up. He breathed a heavy sigh as he stood himself between them, wished Shadow had taken his advice and cover up the whole incident rather than lash out defensively, they had to find a way to calm Peter down to, he was getting too aggressive. He had taken a deep breath and uttered the magic word. "Obliviate."   
He was careful just to remove specific memories that led to this, it did not appear to hurt much since they were paralysed, they would feel a bit confused, but otherwise, they would be fine. He had taken off the body binding spell and helped them back onto their feet; they both looked stunned as they stared at each other in shock.   
"W-What just happened?" Pete said, breaking the silence.   
"Oh, you had a bit of an accident with the fire... Overdid it and almost blown the woodland, just take it easy okay? Tone it down a bit until we get to Old Corona then you can let it rip," Raven replied. "Burn the place to ground if you want."  
Shadow brushed himself off and huffed. "You're hard work, Dragon Warrior, just hope it will be worth it in the end... Let's try this again shall we?"   
Pete sighed as he bowed his head. He could not seem to do anything right. He looked disappointed in him. "Yes, Shadow... How can I control it better?"   
"It feeds on your emotions, imagine those hounds who were chasing down you like a fox... What they had put your poor father through, lose yourself in that anger and let it go," Shadow whispered.   
Pete had taken a deep breath, reached his left arm out and repeated the incantation in a quieter but stern tone, "hellfire light up the night, dark fire destroy everything in sight, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, release the spirit, release the spirit!" A flame flew out of his hand and engulfed a flower that had just survived before but then got burnt to a crisp the small flames spread out a bit into a little fire. It appeared the ferocity of the fire depends on the tone of voice he used, if he was quiet, it was small. If he shouted it out loud, it could become an inferno. He panted as he moved closer to it, forgotten that Shadow and Raven were there, he breathed a heavy sigh as his eyes welled up. "I will make you proud so that you can rest in peace... Don't worry, whatever it may take I'll find a way," there was a moment of silence then his mood shifted to anger again. "I swear right now, no matter what happens to me, anyone who has stood or stands in my path, they're going to pay!"   
Raven gulped, he did not expect him to break into a song, but a part of him worried about his emotional state. He had only gotten a glimpse of his dad but still passionately loved him. There was a no more powerful force in the world than love. People would go as far as to die to protect their loved ones, attack those who threatened or have hurt them.   
"They will... Pay!" Pete growled as he clenched his fist which shook slightly, he closed his eyes for a moment then glared at the fire, he was going to do it. 

* * *

  
  
Meg breathed a heavy sigh as she walked down the street with Jack and Patch beside her, she had passed Sam, Harry and some of the other Aurora guards who were on the lookout for Serpents, she was not sure why but the Phoenix emblem was strangely familiar to her. She wondered why they had the mythical bird as their sign because it was a place of magic and enchantment? Many magical people? She had been to Amestria once with Stefan, Mel and Raven. It was a strange place like a dystopian version of Corona. The streets were never bustling with activity and excitement; it had gone downhill. Lots of dark witches and wizards, those who did not practice that kind of magic quivered in fear of Stefan and the Serpents so much they could not even bring themselves to say his real name.   
"If the muggles just stayed in their lane, this nonsense would not be happening!"   
She turned and glared at them, and she was not sure which one had said that but it angered her, oh sure blame the victim, it was Stefan who was raking in vulnerable people for his sick experiments and tools to get whatever he wanted!   
"It's not the fault of the none magical community!" Sam scolded as he nudged his arm. "Peter did not go to seek out The Shadow Man out. He found him when he was at his lowest point. He was struggling to survive out there, and he was the first person he came across, confused and scared, all Shadow had to do was stir the cauldron, and he was putty in his hands!"  
"It was a pair of muggles who had created a cure for the Draught of Sleeping Death," Harry said. "Something no wizard or witch has been able to do! They are capable of so much more than you think, sure they don't carry magical genes like us, but they have science and this thing called Alchemy."   
"This is a waste of time. The Captain should have stayed in Amestria! There's no point in coming here if they're over there!" James snapped.  
Meg guessed he was the one that had victim-blamed; she did not like what she had heard about Peter. Still, she had some sympathy for him, drugged unknowingly and manipulated emotionally by a colleague, someone he was supposed to trust with his life. It was a 'muggle' who started this mess by using illegal potions from a wizard, the only one that was allowed was the Mood Potion, he must have come to him first. She knew what her ex-boyfriend, he used George to get to Pete, who ticked the boxes for Lord Rammstein to be the 'diamond in the rough.' He had always liked to cause trouble to. He would also have seen how Pete could help with getting his revenge on the Coronan Royal family, just like his father had done with the Amestrian Royal family. She was nervous about the upcoming battle if they lost Corona would end up just like Amestria, Raps could disappear just like Phoebe.   
"Patch, Jack, come on," She moved further down the street until she had seen Charlie on the fountain, surprised he was still around, shouldn't he be on his way back home? Hasn't he been fired yet?   
"I know, I was in the wrong being too harsh on her for the Moon Stone thing," Charlie said.   
Varian sighed as he ran a hand over his hair. "Many people have done it... You shouldn't judge someone before you get to know them, you don't know the whole story."   
Charlie sighed as he bowed his head. "I used to say the same thing when people called me a filthy mudblood because my father was not magical, Woodlock adopted me to… Sam is his only biological son, it's just the memories of the torture she had put me through won't stop haunting me… How could you bring yourself to forgive Cassandra for what she had done to you?"   
Varian sighed and was quiet for a moment as he tried to think of a way to explain it. "She helped Rapunzel defeat Zhan-Tiri by giving up the last piece of the Moon Stone although her methods were pretty messed up she had come round and did the right thing in the end... Not in complete control of her actions. She had a ghost demon hovering over her. I know that she won't do it again and it is not healthy to hold grudges so much it messes with your head! There are quite a few people I've had personal grudges with but I had to learn to let it go, well at least most of them, I got into a group of people that encouraged me to get revenge on the Royals for abandoning me and the abuse I got from the guards. They had almost blown this whole place up, last time I had seen him, I said hate is like fire it's destructive it hurts you more than it hurts anyone else because if it is not put out soon, it will destroy you."   
Meg nodded. "Yep, it spreads as well... One group starts hating another, and they hate them back, chaos starts, and more people get hurt just like Cass. She feels like she's walking on eggshells around us, afraid to upset anyone or that people would get angry with her if Something doesn't go right."   
Charlie was quiet but what Varian said did strike a chord with him, his anger towards his sister had become an unhealthy obsession that he had found himself hurting other people who he was supposed to be helping. He groaned as he put his head against his hand. "I owe her an apology."   
"Too right you do but now is not a good time, she's a nervous wreck... Maybe tomorrow and you better stick to it," Meg replied. "Apologies are pointless if you're not going to follow through and it's manipulation, Stefan used to say he was sorry for hitting or shouting at me in a temper, that he would change... Never did, just thought okay now she's back I can do what I want with her."   
"You're right... That happened to me to, guess that's why I had gotten so twisted," Charlie said.   
Meg nodded then turned her attention back to the dogs. "Come on, Jack, Patch," she turned around and walked further down the street, they quietly followed beside her until a flash of white light spooked them.   
"Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark!"   
The light revealed Woodlock, he was only able to stand for a second then collapsed onto the cold, damp, cobblestone ground, cradling his burnt arm.   
"Dad!" Sam cried as he rushed over to him; he nudged him but did not get a response. "Dad!"   
"Stay back, Charlie, you've done enough already, I'll handle it!" Harry snapped and knelt beside him. "You're going to be relieved of your duties anyway. You're in no fit state to work in the Aurora!"   
Charlie gasped in shock. His little brother had never snapped at him like that; he did not know what else to do so ran away.   
"Dad, what happened?" Sam asked as he knelt beside him.   
Woodlock's breathing was shaky as he still felt the pain of the curse on top of his wounds. "P-Peter h-has taken… T-The F-Firestone, It-tried to s-stop h-him but he b-burnt me I-I tried to stop them, but S-Shadow Man had in-inflicted t-the c-c-cruciatus c-curse on me."   
"Okay, okay, Dad let's get you to the infirmary, I can treat your wounds there and give you a pain-killing potion to help you get over the curse," Harry said with a swish of his wand he and Woodlock disappeared, Sam went quickly after them.   
Meg sighed then resumed her walk. She stopped again when she had seen a woman slink into an alleyway, short black hair tied in a tight bun, then, a grey dress, she leaned against a wall and listened in.   
"Do you have my money?" Another woman spoke; her voice sounded quiet and hissed like a snake. There was a jingle of coins in a bag then she heard another voice, she knew this one, she was Ivy.   
"Here, that bitch will get what she deserves for ruining my husband's life, literally… Blaming him for causing the illness of her's now my children are fatherless, she will be all alone."   
"Pleasure to do business with you," the strange woman replied. "Although how are you going to avoid getting caught?"   
"Oh, they won't think a mere little housewife would be capable of such a thing, they would first blame Cassandra," the strange woman said.   
Meg's eyes widened, this was the one who had spiked Lily's apple, the bloody cow! Lily had never done that, Cass had figured him out, it was not until after Lily learnt who was responsible for Stan's strange sickness, she just needed to find out what her name was. Maybe she could hit two birds with one stone? First, she had to see Sam, in a safe space where no one could eavesdrop, the trouble was how to get a private talk with someone without looking suspicious?   
Cass was feeling better than she did earlier. However, still a knot in her gut as she thought of the upcoming battle, which could very well be tomorrow and if her nightmares were anything to go by he was going to be ruthless. He would not stop at anything to get the Phoenix Flower or more so Shadow who would be pulling strings. She shook her head, no she could not think like that, beat her fears, she thought about what her dad told her, turn your enemies strength into a weakness, they just needed Something they could use to carry plenty of water. "You won't beat me, Pete, fire it up. I will put you out like a little candle," she muttered. She looked over the view from her bedroom window, she then closed her eyes and taken a breath to prepare herself to sing like Rapunzel used to do. "Flower unleash heaven's light, share your power with me, turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what had been destroyed, stop the plans of fate, Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me."  
Owl hooted as though to say: "Well done. You're getting it."  
"Are those the words for the Phoenix flower?" David asked as he walked in to check up on her.   
"Yeah, I've been practising it, so I'll have it memorised when I heal Stan, it's going to be very stressful, and I don't want to forget it," Cassandra replied.   
David sighed as he put a hand over his face, he was not sure that this was the right thing for her to do they just seemed to be going round in circles these days, wished he could make all of this stop before it got out of control.   
"I have a plan, back up and ammo," Cass replied. "I have everything I need... One good thing about the nightmares it has helped me prepare for it, so I stand a better chance of winning, someone has to fix Evan's mess might as well be me, no one else is going to."   
"Oh, honey-" David sighed.   
"I know, it's dangerous, but it is the only way we can end this, we can't exactly rely on Freddy Boy over there, he makes things worse. He blamed Pete for Daniel's murder, winded people up like we were going to fight a world war when it was just a desperate young person who was in distress!" Cassandra snapped.   
"Well, he did kidnap the Queen," David said. "Though I hope Peter did not kill Daniel... I have a bad feeling he is going to hurt some people most of all you and Varian."  
"I know, but the King always gaslights people, shifting blame away from himself, there was plenty of time after the blizzard to check out the problem with Quirin, but he got moved to the back burner like the rocks... I know he can't do anything himself, but maybe we could have gotten help from someone else who knew about this stuff, could have given Raps the incantation sooner then there would have been no battle and Varian would have been spared from that hell hole prison!" Cass said then breathed an exasperated sigh. "Heck, this could have all been prevented if he had just done his job properly put other people's needs before his own, remember how badly he treated people when Raps was gone?"  
"He was grieving," David said.  
"A person's trauma does not excuse abusive behaviour; Corona will not be right until he is gone!" Cass said.  
David sighed, he had seen for himself how terrible poverty had gotten in Corona in the past few years. Low-income families struggling to make ends meet, children left to fend for themselves like Keira and Catalina. Although Raps was not brilliant when she had a go on the throne hopefully, when her time came, she would have learnt from past mistakes and rule the kingdom better than her father had. He was surprised with a hug from Cass.   
"I know you're scared dad, but you have to trust me on this, I know what I'm doing now... It's going to be just fine."  
David closed his eyes for a moment as he slightly tightened his hold on her, she was so precious to him, there was a bad feeling in his gut that it was going to go badly wrong, he could not think of what to say. Good luck? Be careful? That was pretty obvious. She was about to go against a devil and man who could have turned into a firey demon. It did not help that he had no idea when the battle was going to be or exactly what was going to happen, even if he did he would likely still worry as things hardly ever went to plan, he doubted anyone would be able to talk Pete down as even Eugene had tried that. The silence was broken with a knock at the door. He pulled back and watched as Megan entered. She had a look of anger and alarm on her face. "Cass, Pete has just taken the Fire Stone... The first fight could begin tomorrow, are you sure you want to do this? You could just leave this to the Aurora. It is what they trained for."   
Cass nodded. "I am not going to let him think he can scare me and the rest of us away although I was shaken up earlier I feel ready now to take on anything even him." She turned around and looked over the horizon with an icy cold glare as another storm started up, there was a time she used to think lightning was frightening, but she soon faced it and got over it. She knew now that she was strong enough to face anything life would throw at her. She was confident that she could stand against Pete and The Shadow Man. "I'm ready for it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooooo! Things are really heating up now the time for the first fight is almost here!


	51. Fire Fight

Later in the evening, Pete had wandered off on his own to try and calm himself down. He had gone for a run then stopped to try another way to let of some steam. He picked up some stones, threw them into the river and watched as they skipped into the distance despite having ‘amnesia’ he still remembered how to do that, which was interesting to the wizard and witch, Mel had gone up to him and watched curiously, he turned and smiled at her. 

Raven breathed a heavy sigh. He thought he could split them up by removing the memories of their first date and the time she saved his life, but it still did not work, they still appeared to be smitten with each other. They were inseparable. Clearly, he had missed some things. It was just like they were back at the start of their relationship. It was not good to use the memory charm more than once as it could make them terribly forgetful.

He supposed this way would get them to slow down now they were both back in line although he hoped nothing would come out from their steamy sleepover as it would be challenging to explain later. He watched quietly as they stood together at the river. She seemed fascinated by it. She tried it put it just flopped into the water.

“The key is the flat part,” Pete said as he picked up another one, she did to as he brought himself back up. “Right, lean back, get quite low and just flick with the wrist.” He threw the stone out, and it skipped across the river just like the other one.

Mel tried it, but it flopped again.

Pete smiled as he looked back at her, “it’s okay.”

He put his hands on her arms to guide her into the right position as she held a new stone. She bent down, he held her wrist and swung it back and forth to prepare her to fire. She threw it. The stone skipped once then fell. She almost had it.

“Good try,” Pete said. “We’re getting there.”

Mel picked up another stone, this muggle past time seemed like fun, she had let Pete guide her again, and she did a bit better.

“Not bad,” Pete said as he picked up another stone then lowered himself down. “Try to get a bit lower, just-“ he threw it out. “Flick the wrist like you’re casting a spell.”

Mel picked another stone up and threw it out. She had finally gotten it, she laughed and beamed, which warmed Pete's heart. 

“Well done,” Pete said.

“Thanks,” Mel replied.

“You’re welcome,” Pete said and threw another stone out, he looked back at her and smiled a bit. “When we get back to Corona, would you like to… Uh, go out?”

Mel chuckled under her breath and blushed. “Yeah, we could have some fun... Don't worry about Shadow. He's just jealous because you're now hotter than him.”

Pete laughed and blushed slightly. "You really think I'm that good looking or was that a fire pun?" 

"Both, handsome and now you're magical with the power to control fire," Mel said as she smirked mischievously which made him laugh more. 

Raven groaned as he facepalmed, he had ironically forgotten about the night they had their first kiss, so they were going round in circles. The problem was he did not want them to forget about each other completely, so he had kept some of the memories like times during his stay in her tower, so maybe they could just be friends, sort of, he just hoped they did not get carried away again. He supposed just as long as she did not get in Shadow's way it would be fine, he was okay with it until that point. 

“You okay?” Mel whispered as she put a hand on his cheek, gently rubbed the scar with her thumb. 

“Yeah… Just nervous I guess, I mean what if it isn’t all I thought it would be? I thought once I had taken the stone, everything would become clear… I’m still so lost,” Pete said.

“It’s okay, Peter… I’m going to be there to help you, you’re not on your own anymore,” Mel replied as wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his chest.

“Thanks, Mel, you’re the best,” Pete replied as he gently held her hips.

“They’re still at it?” Shadow asked as he stood behind Raven with his arms crossed.

“Yes… Master,” Raven said. "They haven't kissed, just been hugging." 

“Keep an eye on them, be interesting to see how this plays out,” Shadow said as he turned around. “We’ll be back on the road in five minutes.”

There was a moment of silence then Raven got up and approached them. "Okay you two, time to head back to the caravan... Separate beds mind!"

"Oh, hilarious, Raven!" Pete said as he reluctantly followed after him but held Mel's hand. 

Raven hummed and raised his eyebrows. He tried to refrain himself from speaking his thoughts out loud again. "Sure." 

Shadow observed the three of them, especially Pete and Mel, he thought it was odd how he was so drawn to her even though he had only just started getting to know her. Raven stood at the door with his arms crossed once they entered to make sure they did not get up to 'mischief' again, they stood in the middle of the caravan, he was going to let them say goodnight and that was it. 

"Do you feel ready for the big day tomorrow?" Mel whispered as she put her arms around his shoulders. 

"Yeah, I've got this, I picked on it pretty quickly," Pete said as he put his arms around her waist, he eyed Raven who momentarily got distracted, he rested his head on her right shoulder and whispered as low as he could. "I'll get something special for you." 

Mel smirked, she knew just what he was talking about. "Aww, you're so sweet," she spotted Raven as he eyed them suspiciously just when she was about to peck his cheek. "Good night, firecracker." 

Pete chuckled under his breath and looked at her with a goofy smile. "Sweet dreams... Hun, thanks for everything."

"You're welcome," Mel said as she smiled sweetly at him. "Looking forward to seeing you in action, tiger." 

Pete stared off into space, and he wished he had gotten the chance to spend more time with her; he could hardly remember anything of the trip to Amestria. It felt like there was a big fog in his mind as nothing made sense. How did they get there so quickly? Did he sleep through it? There was a big gap between his last night at Mel's and him getting the Fire Stone. 

"Ahem!" Raven had loudly cleared his throat. "Bed, you two now and no funny business, you got me?" 

Pete groaned as he moved away from Mel. "Ah come on, can't we just- Why do you keep going on about that?" 

Raven huffed. "Just warning you... You're like teenagers in your head, don't want you to get carried away, doing things you are not ready for." 

"It's just a hug, jeez!" Mel huffed.

"Uh-huh it often starts with just a hug, scoot," Raven said as he pointed to her bed.

Mel sighed. She turned around, then took one last look at Pete. "Night." 

"Night, Princess," Pete replied as he looked at her with a small smile which faded when he heard Raven growl. "What?" 

"Bed, now!” Raven ordered like an exasperated parent often did with their child as he pointed at the bed on the other side of the caravan. "You've got a big fight tomorrow, we're going to need you to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed... I'll be checking on you on the way back to Corona so behave yourself, you got me?"

"Okay," Pete said, he looked at the wizard with a puzzled expression, he had not even done anything wrong, had he? Oh, the giant fireball explosion but what did that have to do with Mel? He shook his head and flopped onto his bed, his back to Raven, he heard him hum then slam the door. 

"Alright, we're ready to go, Master!" 

"Master?" Pete had never heard them call Shadow that before even though he was their leader, he had let out a loud yawn, he was so tired from the training, the muscles in his legs and arms were terribly sore, but he had managed to push through it, he seemed to have gotten used to being in pain. He smelt like a piece of overcooked smokey bacon from the all the fire he had brought up, although it did not seem to bother Mel much. He felt mixed feelings about attacking his home country, but now he was determined to get revenge for his father. He would get a special gift that he could give to her on their date, that would be sure to impress her that he did something her ex-boyfriends had failed to do.

The rocking of the caravan felt strangely relaxing like a rocking cradle. He groaned as he had a monster headache coming on, which was a common side effect of the memory charm. He put a hand over his temple as though that would ease it somehow. He did not know how to get the fire armour off. He could not be bothered to try even though it was an uncomfortable thing to sleep in; he watched his surroundings through the window as the caravan moved away until he eventually drifted off. 

* * *

Varian ran as fast as he possibly could to Old Corona; it was not often he did this; he was not the athletic type. He had almost banged into his dad. He was in such a rush.

“Where’s the fire, kid?” One of the elderly farmers said as he brushed past him.

“Varian… What’s wrong?” Quirin said as he put his large, strong hands on his slim shoulders.

“D-Dad… Pete’s got the Fire Stone, and he is coming back to Old Corona, you have to move everyone to New Corona!” Varian cried. “He's out of control. He’s with a group of evil wizards and witches. They will take great delight in torturing the people, whether they are magical or not!”

“Woah, Woah… Slow down, what are you saying?” Quirin shook his head. He was talking so quickly he could not keep up with what he was saying.

Varian groaned he was not getting it. “I need… I need you to take the villagers to New Corona… Find them somewhere safe to stay, maybe Xavier’s place he’s got a lot of room in the forge… Also, tell the Pub Thugs from the Snuggly Duckling, I’m not sure how far the fire is going to spread, but it could get terrible!”

“W-What’s going on?” Quirin asked.

Varian had taken a deep breath and then tried to speak slowly. “P-Pete… The Ex-Guard has taken the Fire Stone and-and is on his way back to Corona… This part… I-I have to get us ready to fight him.”

“Oh no,” Edmund gasped, he still had not gotten over the moonstone thing.

“Fight him? Varian, are you nuts? He had almost killed you!” Quirin cried.

“Okay, where is this git so I can kill him!” Hector growled as he pulled out his dagger.

“No, it wasn’t like that Hector he was mind-controlled then, I have to stop him from hurting the people… Somehow, the guards aren’t going to stand a chance with him!” Varian cried. “They could not even beat me!”

“There is a stone for fire?” Adira said, she looked baffled, she had never known of stones for the elements. “Is there an Earth and Water one to?”

Quirin groaned as he put a hand over his face. “I could-“ 

“No you can’t Dad, the best thing you can do is get the villagers to safety, Adira, Hector, Edmund, you do the same! Don’t bother going to Frederic. He will just make things worse!” Varian cried. “I faced a giant demon. I’m sure I can take him on… We need more personal protection, I’ve got a mask, but Cass doesn’t… I’m gonna have to get to work!” He rushed into his lab.

“Oh no way I’m letting you-“ Hector yelled, but Adira had cut him off.

“We don’t have a choice. It’s no good going at him with swords and fists,” Adira said. “The main thing is we get the people to safety.”

“What? Do you think it’s a good idea to let him try?” Hector cried.

“He’s stronger than he looks,” Adira said. “Good thing we came back over… Do you know who this Pete is, sir?”

Edmund rubbed the back of his neck. “Um… I think he was one of the Royal Guards.”

“I know him, he’s thin, quite tall, skinny, light-skinned and has a few freckles, brown hair, though I imagine the Fire Stone would have changed some things about his appearance, turned his hair orange or yellow,” Quirin said. "He's been wanted for suspicion of murder, word on the street he had killed another Royal Guard but I'm not so sure about it." 

Adira nodded as she looked around the area. “Where are we going to take all of these people?”

Quirin sighed. “We'll just have to figure that out when we get there… Let’s just hope it will be safe to return later.” He had taken a deep breath then turned around to inform the people although it looked like some of them had already caught on.

“Did you hear that? Hayes is going to attack Old Corona!” A man whispered to one of his mates. 

“Oh, my God!” A woman screamed 

“How could he do this?” Another man wondered out loud.

“Where is the Royal Guard? They should have caught him by now, what are they playing at?” An older man huffed as he crossed his arms and shook his head. 

“We must alert King Frederic immediately!” Another man cried out. 

“Hey, hey… Quiet down!” Quirin shouted.

The people had fallen quiet.

“Yes, we about to be under attack… Trouble is we don’t exactly know when,” Quirin said.

“We should get them out now, you can explain to His Highness later!” Adira said in a raised voice she would rather not leave it to the last minute as everyone would be in an even bigger panic and there would be less chance of them surviving. "Not that he would be much help but still... He likely had a part in this." She had taken a deep breath and turned back to the people. “Okay, everyone, my name is Adira, this is Hector and here is King Edmund… We are going to help you evacuate the village just in case the fire spreads beyond the woods! We will find you safe places to stay until it is safe to return!” 

“W-What about my sheep? How am I going to get them over there?” The elderly farmer asked.

“You can use my cart. You’ve got enough to fit in,” a younger man said.

“When do we leave?” One of the men asked.

“Now, we don’t know when he is going to strike, it could be tonight or tomorrow, we were lucky to get a head’s up from Varian,” Adira said.

“Yeah, that guy is saving your butts, better start treating nicely from now on!” Hector said.

“Alright, everyone follows me!” Quirin shouted out. 

Most had gone after Quirin. Some went around with the Brotherhood warriors to spread the word and helped those who could not move quickly or vulnerable. Hector had put a couple of kids on his rhino, Edmund had gotten on Domino and led the way.

Varian breathed a sigh of relief as he entered his lab, a part of him regretted going to New Corona that day. Still, now he was glad he did, if he had not, he would not have heard the news on Pete, which would have made it hard to prepare, this also allowed him to get his fellow Old Coronans to safety. One thing that had worried him was the fire spreading beyond the woods or him rampaging the village with the Serpents by the time the Royal Guard got there. It would be too little too late.

He grabbed some steel pieces, put his face shield on and got to work, it was not the same without Ruddiger around, but he had to focus. He glanced at the water gun and oxygen tanks with rubber tubes that he had made earlier, if Pete had set off again the smoke would get into their chests and suffocate them, these would help get more air into their lungs.He sweated as adrenaline rushed through him, his heart pumped in his chest, he knew he had to try at least to stop Pete anyway, and it was important to Cassandra that they saved Stan.

He wanted to help Lily to like he wished someone had been there to help him! He related to her somehow; the only family she had left was in danger of being lost forever and could not do anything herself. The doctors could not figure out what was wrong with him as his sickness had unusual symptoms so could not find a way to make him better, when they tried using ordinary medication it did more harm than good. He jumped when he heard the sound of fireworks blow up in the sky followed by screaming, paused, and glanced through the window, there was a group of strange people with long pointed hats, black robes and half skull masks. 

"Stick together, everyone!" He heard Edmund shout out. 

"Hector, Adira, get those kids out of the way!" Quirin yelled. 

"Daddy!" A little girl screamed as Hector grabbed her and put her on one of the bearcats just as her father had gotten struck with a flash of green light. 

There was more screaming as people were hit at random by a strange spell that made people drop dead, Varian's eyes widened as he watched the scene in horror, he had the awful thought that one of them would hit his dad turned around. He looked at the Aurora armour that Charlie had given him, it was a bit big, but he said it would protect him from most curses. He examined the helmet, which was a special kind they used in battle. It had a glass shield over the face, he had put it on and grabbed some of his alchemy bombs, he hoped the Aurora would come in time to stop them. By the time he got out, he had lost sight of them. He had gotten knocked about from the many people who ran like wildebeests in a stampede. He had seen flashes of white light he had seen Mustang, Sam, Harry and others he had not yet met.

"Stupefy!" Mustang yelled, which sent one of them flying. 

"Expelliarmus! Petrificitus totalus!" Harry shouted, which stunned another. 

"Flipendo!" one of them cried out, which made them fall just as he was about to kill another person. "Petrificitus totalus!"

"Protego!" Sam waved his wand across to protect himself from a jinx. "Petrificitus totalus!" 

"Stupefy! Petrificitus totalus!" Harry yelled. 

"Expelliarmus! Petrificitus totalus!" James shouted out.

While the wizards were doing their work, the Brotherhood Warriors carried on trying to get the people away as quickly as possible. Varian shook his head and pulled out one of his pink goo bombs. He tossed it at one of them, then another as he was about to charge towards Sam. 

"Nice work, lad!" Sam said, then shot back at another Serpent. 

"Varian! Get away from there!" Quirin yelled as he raced towards him, he had noticed one of the dark wizard's moved his aim from Sam to him. 

"Dad!" Varian cried as he threw himself over him. 

"Expeliarmus!" Sam yelled as he jumped in front of Quirin and Varian, fortunately, caught on what was happening and knocked the wand out of the wizard's hand before he had the chance to utter the words of the killing curse. "Perificus totalus!" 

Varian panted as panic set in, that guy had almost killed his dad... Actually, kill him, he never thought he would be so glad to have some kind of guards around. He would meet any that really helped him in time. He watched in amazement as they shouted out all sorts of spells to stop the villains in their tracks. He had never been into magic because it was just too weird, there was no logic in it, unlike science and alchemy. He found it strange how just a little piece of wood could do all these things. Some people inherited magic. He guessed that was why the whole blood thing was such a big deal. Some believed that it should be kept amongst themselves not shared out with non-magical people. 

"Stupefy!" 

"Flippendo!" 

"Petrificus totalus!" 

"Expelliarmus!" 

"Petrificus totalus!" 

"Petrificus totalus!" 

He glanced over his shoulder and was relieved that Aunt Adira and Uncle Hector were okay and at least most of the people. He looked back and was shocked how quickly the Aurora had taken them down, some of the Royal Guards arrived with the prison wagons. 

"It's a one way trip to Wizarding Prison for you lot, the dementors will wipe those wicked smirks off your faces," Mustang said as he snatched one of their wands and picked a witch up, the other magical soldiers confiscated wands, grabbed the other criminals and shoved them into the wagon. 

Varian breathed a heavy sigh although his adrenaline was running wild in his body, he scanned his surroundings on the lookout for any more, it horrified him to see the Royal Guards deal with the dead and injured. 

"You should still evacuate the villagers, there will be more to come," Mustang said. 

Quirin nodded. "Thank you... Uh." 

"Captain Mustang." 

"Are you sure that's it?" Varian asked. "There isn't any more right now?" 

"No... Some of them will be waiting for the Shadow Man to return with Peter. They are very good at hiding, these lot likely acted on their own, they thought it would be a good time to kill some people... Just before they got away," Mustang replied. "We'll have your back." 

Varian sprung on his feet and dashed to his lab, he had to prepare for the next attack, he supposed there was a delay in the signal from the Rooster, he had to fix that to, it pained him to think of the people that had been killed so brutally even in front of their kids, he bit his lip as he heard their cries in his head. 

_"Daddy!"_

_"Dad!"_

_"Mommy!"_

_"Papa!"_

_"Mama!"_

Varian backed away and taken some deep breaths, he had to clear his head to focus on finishing the gear, he also had the shock from his dad almost getting killed by the same curse, if it had not been for Sam's quick thinking, he would have lost him permanently. "Okay, you snakes you want a war you've got it!" He growled as he picked up his hammer and hit the metal with all his might as he had a newfound determination to bring down any of the dark witches and wizards left especially the Shadow Man, he also had a bone to pick with Pete. 

* * *

There was tension in the air inside the Espinosa household as Cass was preparing herself for battle, Meg sighed as she leaned against the bedroom door and listened to her singing the healing incantation for the umpteenth time.

“Flower unleash heaven’s light, share your power with me, turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed. Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me.”

Meg knocked on the door. “Cass, can we talk for a minute?”

There was a moment of silence then Cass opened the door. “What’s wrong?”

“While I was walking the dogs, I came across one of the Serpents, Ivy, she was dealing potions with a woman… She called Lily a bitch and blamed her for her husband’s death, this being George!” Meg said.

Cassandra’s eyes widened, she had not seen that coming, she had suspected it was Rob, he was the only one she knew of who had a grudge against her. “Wow… Y-You need to talk to Sam or the other one.”

“Harry?”

“Yeah… As soon as you can, I’ll be too busy to see him myself,” Cass said.

“I know, you’ve got a big day ahead of you… The problem is, I don’t know her name,” Meg said.

“Evans would be her last name, Eugene would know who you mean… She will be arrested for attempted murder, actual murder if the baby does die… Poor Lily,” Cass breathed a heavy sigh. “Looks like she is going to lose it this time.”

“Yeah, she’s scared that the baby won’t make it, she still feels him or her move a bit, she’s still got quite a way to go… Maybe if she had eaten the whole apple he or she would have died, but since she just had half there is still a chance of survival,” Meg said.

Cass sighed again as she ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know… She clearly intended to do some serious harm. Maybe if I teach the incantation to Stan, he could pass it on to their child.”

“Are you sure that would work?” Meg asked.

Cass shrugged. “It’s worth a shot.”

“Okay, just be careful… Alright, I want you to come back in one piece,” Meg said. “You hear?”

“Sure, thing,” Cass said. “Take care of Mrs Bader while I’m gone... She’s going to need a lot of support.”

Meg nodded. “Right, night.”

“Good night, I hope we will sleep better tonight,” Cass said then closed the door, she stretched her arms as she yawned then flopped into bed she twisted and turned as she dreamed of the chase for the Phoenix Flower again. 

* * *

Shadow was surprised to find silence as he entered the tower and neither Pete nor Mel were in their usual places, he sighed as he told them to be up early, he hoped they had not gotten up to anything as he approached Mel's room, he found Pete beside her on the bed, holding her close as she cried, her face was pale, sweaty held a wooden bucket in her hands.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he whispered as he gently rubbed her back, he was worried, he did not expect her to get this sick so suddenly.

“No need to be so dramatic, it’s not like she’s got the Black Death,” Shadow said. “Time to get to work!”

Pete sighed, he looked at Mel then back at him, he seemed not to realise how bad the situation was. “S-Shadow… Mel is sick… I-I can’t just leave her like this… The fight will just have to-“

“It can’t wait if we delay the fight we will lose!” Shadow snapped.

“Shadow, please… Mel needs our help more,” Pete pleaded, Shadow was even surprised to see tears in his eyes; he could not keep up with him.

“Alright, I’ll get Ivy to look after her until after, she can treat her for whatever sickness she has,” Shadow. “She will be fine.”

Pete had fallen quiet. His heart demanded he stayed with Mel and not to hurt his home town, it was taking things too far. "No Shadow, this isn't right so many people are going to get hurt." 

Shadow sighed as he had gotten fed up of going over this, he needed to knock all the sentimentality out of him. "If you don't beat them, they will destroy you, the King had ordered for you to be unjustly executed." 

"Wouldn't it have been better to just go through it and try to clear my name rather than run away and cause more trouble for them?" Pete asked he started to get shaky. "This was a terrible mistake... I shouldn't have done it!"

Mel sighed, on second thoughts non of this was worth it. "Peter... If you don't want to do this you can just take the stone out and go."

Pete had frozen up. "W-What? You want me to go?"

Mel nodded. "Yeah, it's not fair on you to be put through this... I know, I'm sick but I'll get through it."

Pete looked down at the scarlet opal over his heart, he had only had it for a day and regretted taking it, he wondered what on Earth was he thinking, this would not achieve anything. 

"Come here!" Shadow growled as he pulled him over. "I have worked too hard to get you this far, don't back down on me now!" 

"Well, that's your problem!" Pete snapped. "This is stupid! None of this is going to help me, just make me the enemy!"

"You already are the enemy, they have been hunting you down for a month now!" Shadow snapped. "You had tried to be nice but they pushed you to this, you have to fight just to survive... You're past the point of no return."

Pete coughed, he had gone too long without water, his throat felt sore, he felt too tired to fight anyone.

"Here, have this," Shadow said as he passed him a canteen. "You're becoming dehydrated." 

Pete had taken the container and chugged down what he thought was water but like last time he accidentally dropped the canteen as it was another shock to his system, when he opened them he had a cold, heartless glare in them. 

“Nice, very nice, you have the same darkness in your soul that I have,” Shadow whispered as he circled him. “What is your destiny?”

“Avenge my father, create the Phoenix Flower,” Pete said as though this was something they had rehearsed for weeks. 

"What have I taught you?" 

"The Guard and the King are the enemies," Pete said with a growl, he bared his teeth which was a thing he tended to do when he was angry like a tiger. 

“What must you do?” Shadow hissed.

“Bring back the Phoenix Flower, destroy the guard and Corona,” Pete replied. 

“Well done,” Shadow replied. “Let’s get going," he opened the trap door and led the way out. 

* * *

The Old Coronans had taken refuge in the castle, they had arrived with the Aurora guards, crying about an attack by 'evil witches and wizards' which was unusual but it was the best place as it was big enough to keep them all together which seemed like the better option than splitting up, they also had the protection of the extra Aurora guards that apparated from Amestria. Rapunzel had another shot at being Queen as Frederic had fallen too ill to rule, she had gone around comforting the people as she went around, she hoped Varian would be okay, she was surprised not to see him with Quirin, she glanced at him as he paced back and forth no doubt worried sick about his son going against those very people. 

Faith placed another log onto the fire. She breathed a heavy sigh as she felt scared herself after hearing from some of the villagers. It saddened her to see the small children crying. She was also worried about Varian. These people sounded absolutely ruthless and brutal. A part of her wished he had come with the people. She had a bad feeling that he would get hurt somehow or worse killed. She could not believe he was risking himself for someone he did not even know, yes it would have been awful if Stan died but was it really worth that much risk? He was like thirty years older than him. He had lived at least most of his life Varian had not even gotten halfway there. Quirin was thinking the same thing by the looks of it, he seemed to be regretting letting him go, but last time he told him no he had lashed out because it was like he undermined his ability and did not trust him to do a good enough job. 

They had given the villagers a blanket to keep warm as the air had grown cold and there was not much heating in the castle, Pascal being a little sweetheart made them tea with a spoonful of sugar. 

"Nigel, I don't feel right leaving it to Cass and Varian... I want to help them," Rapunzel said. 

"Your Highness, Hayes is far too dangerous for you to fight especially now he has the power to control fire, you no longer have your magical hair to protect you from such harm," Nigel said then pulled her aside. "You heard Mustang. These people are hazardous they have no humanity or humility as they had just shown last night... If Miss Espinosa and Mr Jordan have chosen to fight despite the risks that's their choice although I am afraid chances are they will not get through it safely." 

"W-We can't leave them to fight him and the other Serpents on their own! What if they cast that spell that kills people in seconds?" Rapunzel cried. 

"I believe they have both been warned about how much of a threat they are," Nigel said. "You are the heir to the throne, right now the Queen, if those villains got you it would be the end of the Der Sonne line, we would have to transfer the throne to your cousin! They could hold you hostage or kill you!" 

"He's right Rapunzel, not that I don't think you can handle yourself in normal circumstances... The best thing you can do right now is to take care of the villagers. I have sent scouts to track down Pete’s exact location," Eugene said. 

"Maybe we should just leave this to the Aurora... I mean this is kind of their thing, right?" Hookfoot asked. 

"I have already sent men to escort Miss Espinosa and Mr Jordan to protect them from the Serpents," Captain Mustang said. "Rest assured Your Highness we can handle this." 

Rapunzel breathed a heavy sigh as Eugene stood in front of her. "Go, both of you." 

Eugene pulled her into a hug for a moment as she looked like she was about to burst into tears. "We'll be back, I promise." He turned around and exited the room along with Mustang, Big Nose, Vlad, Attila and some of the Royal Guards. Max went after them then paused to look back at Rapunzel, he whinnied then turned around and nudged her, Rapunzel touched his muzzle and leaned her forehead on his. "Keep them safe, Max." 

Max made some sounds as though to say: "I will," then walked away. 

Pascal chirped and stretched his head up to comfort her. 

"Don't worry, Rapunzel," Arianna said as she put an arm around her shoulder. "If anyone can get through this, they can, it will soon be over." 

* * *

Shadow and Pete were surprised when they arrived in Old Corona as Raven and Issac appeared with a pair of men, one appeared to be much younger, the other closer to their age.

“Royal Guards,” Raven growled as he pushed Bob and Josh down.

“Oh look, Pete, your old workmates, have come for a visit,” Shadow said in a sarcastic tone.

“P-Pete? I-Is that you?” Josh stammered nervously. His helmet had been knocked lopsided just like Pete’s had once. 

Pete moved towards them. He coldly glared at them. “Well done, you found me, want a doggie treat?”

“Captain Fitzherbert will stop you!” Josh said in a stern tone, trying to sound less afraid than he actually was. “We had sympathy for you earlier, but you’ve turned evil we won’t show any mercy!”

“Oh, I quiver with fear,” Pete said and rolled his eyes. “Sad, if you have been holding back before it means this is the best you can do.”

Josh gulped, he had never gotten to know him very well, but this was not how he remembered him. “W-What are you g-going to d-do to us?”

“Oh, I'm sorry, am I scaring you?” Pete said in a mockingly kind tone as he knelt in front of them. “Quit stammering it’s annoying as hell!”

“Y-You can’t k-keep us here!” Josh snapped.

“I’m not going to,” Pete said as the rope became loose. "I couldn't be doing with your whiny voice, looking after you would be more hard work than you're worth." 

“Y-You’re letting us go?” Bob gasped as he cut the rope with a dagger. 

Pete narrowed his eyes and looked at him like he had just asked a stupid question. “Yeah… Did you think I was going to kill you?”

Josh gulped. “Well… We heard you did-“

Pete rolled his eyes. “Of course you did, little sheep... Go along with whatever His Royal Pain In The Neck says.”

“Well, you are looking very suspicious right now,” Josh muttered.

“Quiet, Josh!” Bob said in a hushed voice. “Don’t make him madder!”

“He’s already mad,” Josh muttered.

“I could roast you two like Goodwill turkeys, but I’m feeling… Nice today, if your Captain wants to fight as, he can,” Pete said as he stood back up. “He has hurt me for the last time, whatever I do you deserve.”

“Let’s go, before he changes his mind,” Bob whispered as he got himself up, Josh followed his lead then they both ran away as fast as they could which was not very much. 

Pete huffed then ran off in the opposite direction to get started on the fire. 

Shadow hummed and stroked his goatee as he watched them run. “How many men does it take to deliver a message?”

Raven smirked as he drew his wand and aimed it at them. “One.”

* * *

Cass closed her eyes and taken a deep breath, today was the day that she raced Pete to the Phoenix Flower, she hoped he would not see her, but she had a sinking feeling that she would, she had the incantation memorised, she had a plan, Eugene and Lance distract Pete with some of the Aurora guards backing them up. She and Varian got the flower, it seemed pretty straight forward and simple, but things never quite ran so smoothly in Corona, there was always some mishap or situation that turned things upside down, she shook her head she could not think like that. If she dwelled on the bad thoughts too much, she would panic possibly have another attack which she had only just gotten over. 

"Cass, you have a visitor," Meg said. 

Cass sighed and followed Meg downstairs she was surprised to see Charlie and Sam there in the living room, one of them holding a spare armour of theirs. 

"It seems Mr Woodlock has something he needs to say to you," David said as he stood on the other side of the room with his arms crossed, expecting a sincere apology to his daughter, both of them were surprised to see Charlie get down on the floor in a deep bow. 

"Oh where we're from we bow when we make serious apologies," Sam said. 

"I-I mistreated you yesterday, harshly judged you despite not knowing anything about you, I had no right to treat you like that," Charlie said. "You have been struggling with anxiety a lot these past few weeks, and I have worsened it with my callousness, I shouldn't have judged you based on my sister's actions and rumours... I am very sorry for snapping at you and triggering your panic attack." 

Cass was baffled, he did not expect him to come over and apologise so quickly after it happened, that was more than Pete had ever done but would he stick to it? He did seem remorseful in the tone of his voice and the saddened expression on his face when she had first seen him. "At least you have acknowledged it now... You need to stop bringing her up all of the time." 

"I know it was stupid and wrong... She wasn't even relevant to the conversation in the first place, I had developed an unhealthy obsession about my sister and taken my frustrations with her out on you," Charlie said. 

"I know, I was trying to tell you that maybe she was not entirely in control of her actions like maybe she was under the imperious curse, he had already used that memory charm on her, so I am willing to forgive you this time, are you going to help me with my mission?" Cass said. 

"Yeah, we are going to help you with getting the flower as the Serpents are likely to attack again like they had done last night," Charlie said. 

Cass gasped, she did not see that coming either, her mind went straight onto her young alchemist friend. "I-Is Varian okay?"

"Yeah, he's alright although he was shaken, his father was almost killed by one of them, luckily I had gotten in the way," Sam said. "I can give you a lift over on my broom."

"What?" Cass narrowed her eyes as she wondered if she heard that right, how could they ride on a broom? She glanced at her dad even he was puzzled. 

"Oh, we ride on broomsticks," Sam replied. "We also have a spare bit of armour. A good soldier always carries a spare uniform."

Cass sighed, this guy reminded her of Stan, he always had a thing about carrying another helmet, chest plate, shirt, vest and trousers, she could not see any reason he would have needed to change or how he would even have time to, he was like an ox carrying the extra weight. However, she supposed that was one reason his back had gotten weak over time. She was surprised when he handed it over to her. 

"Varian had made a mask to protect your chest from the smoke, the rest will protect you from most spells," Sam said. "Anything else that they might throw at you." 

"Okay, thanks," Cass said as she glanced at the chest plate, it looked much smaller than Sam's and Charlie's she noticed a lump that gave extra space for a lady's chest, she sighed as she had just realised something. 

"It was... Our sister's, I kept it, just in case she did... Return," Sam said and breathed a heavy sigh. 

Cass nodded, she could understand how hard this was for him, she hoped he would not have to fight against her, but that seemed unlikely since her loyalties seemed to remain with The Shadow Man, she had taken another deep breath and slipped on the chest plate, it had fit on nicely even though it did feel a bit strange being in a guard armour again. It reminded her of the dream she once had of fighting the evil guards with new armour. It had almost come true. 

"Alright, are you ready?" Sam said. 

Cass nodded again, then turned to her dad and hugged him. "Stay with Mrs Bader, make sure she's safe, and Evans does not try to hurt her again, I'll be back as soon as possible." 

"Take care, Cassandra... Watch out for any of the Serpents and Pete, goodness knows what they have done to him," David said. 

"Watch your back, if it gets too dangerous to get out of there, don't take unnecessary risks like fighting Pete for it when he is off his head on something or Mel shows up, she is a highly skilled witch and dangerous, Sam, and Charlie, do all you can to protect Cass and Varian know just what they are capable of!" Meg said in a stern tone as though she was their commanding officer.

Sam and Charlie nodded. "Yes, Miss."

David sighed as Cass backed away, he felt a bit better knowing there would be a couple of wizards with her and Varian to protect them should things get ugly, which they just might knowing their luck. He and Meg watched outside the front door as Cass climbed up on the broomstick behind Sam and held on to his waist like they were on a motorbike. Charlie put on a rucksack with medical supplies just in case there were injuries, hopped onto his room and within minutes they had set off. 

"Woah!" A man from across the street gasped as they soared into the air. "How on Earth does that even work?" 

"Magic," Meg said as she watched them fly out, that was one thing she had never done before, Stefan and Mel preferred to apparate or use port keys which she guessed was to be expected since they would not want to draw attention to themselves when they needed to be sneaky. Minutes later more of the Aurora guards had flown over on broomsticks much to the amazement of the none magical folk down below. 

"Turns out the broom thing was true, here I thought that was ridiculous," Eugene said as he tilted his head up to watch them for a moment as he rode on Max. 

"They fly on broomsticks?" Joe looked bewildered as to how that was even possible, why brooms? It seemed funny how it was just as normal to them as riding on horseback. He guessed you would need a good head for heights to be an Aurora which he did not. Before he thought the strangest thing about them was the ability to disappear and reappear in another place with just a flick of the wand. 

"Okay, we've got a tight schedule, let's get going to take the Serpents down, they have killed four people in Old Corona and Bob, we can't let them carry on any longer!" Eugene said then given Max a nudge to get going. 

David's eyes widened, shocked that they had already attacked Old Corona and killed people including one of the guards, he sighed as his heart went out to the families who had been affected, he did not know if Bob had a wife but if he did she would be absolutely heartbroken. He bit his lip as his mind went back to Lily, he hoped she was okay, and Stan could manage to hold on just a bit longer if he died before Cass returned it would be a disaster. Her efforts would have been in vain, or would they? A bigger worry was if Cass got caught by Pete or this Mel, any of the Serpents, if they had injured her or worst still killed her if they had somehow gotten past Sam or Charlie. He was not sure how competent they were although he had more faith in Sam than Charlie, he shook his head and made his way to Stan's, it seemed no matter how much he tried he could not shake the sinking feeling he had in his gut. 

* * *

Pete had taken a deep breath as he stood in the middle of the Old Corona woodland, his heart was banging inside his chest, he reached his arm out but was not able to get much more than a candle sized flame. "Just... Focus!" He had fallen on his knees and bowed his head. He could not understand what was wrong; his mind was muddled up from being hit with the memory charm twice. He tried to figure out the words for the incantation something about hell... Fire, of course, that would be part of it... What else was there? Night... What rhymed with night? Did it all have to rhyme? Was it a night as in night time or Knight as in warrior knight? They both sounded the same, Dragon Knight? Was that where Shadow got Dragon Warrior to nickname from? 

"What's wrong?" Shadow said as he noticed he had gotten a bit distracted. "You were just fine last night." 

"I-I don't know... I-I can't think-" Pete said, he groaned as he put a hand over his face. 

"You have forgotten the words already? I have just taught it to you!" Shadow snapped. 

"Yeah, I have, I'm sorry... I-I don't know what's wrong with me... I'm having trouble remembering things," Pete said and breathed a heavy sigh. 

Shadow huffed as he stood behind him. "Alright, I'll go over it with you once again, repeat after me... Hellfire, light up the night." 

"Hellfire, light up the night," Pete said, he was close at least it answered his question which 'night' it was. 

"Dark fire, destroy everything in sight, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Shadow said. 

This was a chunk, Pete closed his eyes and tried to concentrate hard on Shadow's voice; he needed to memorise it. "Dark fire, destroy everything in sight, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

Shadow sighed, curious as to what had caused the problem with his short term memory. "Release the spirit, release the spirit." 

"R-Release the spirit, release the spirit," Pete said and when he opened his eyes again the small flame and grown a bit bigger. 

"Alright, try it again and raise your voice, the ferocity of the fire depends on your tone if you whisper you get a tiny flame if you shout it out you will create an inferno, do you remember what I had told you yesterday? Think of your father, how the guards ripped him away from you, feel that anger and let it go!" Shadow said in a raised tone to give him a better idea on what voice to use.

Pete felt a pang in his chest as he thought of the illusions he had shown him, how much it had hurt him, haunted his dreams sometimes when he was not completely exhausted or passed out. He clenched his fists which he tended to do a lot. He began to fill hot under the collar. He had taken a deep breath as he prepared to attempt it once again. "Hellfire, light up the night... Dark fire... Destroy everything in sight!" Like Shadow instructed, he shouted it out as loudly as he could then paused for a moment then done the second half. "Ashes to ashes! Dust to dust... Release the spirit, release the spirit!" 

It worked, despite the small pauses the small flame had grown much bigger and more flames appeared and exploded into a huge inferno which in a matter of time would spread throughout the land, Shadow smirked wickedly, satisfied that Pete had gotten the hang of it he apparated elsewhere as unlike him he did not have the protection from the flames or the smoke. 

Pete stood himself up, he had not realised that Shadow had vanished, he was unsure what to do next, the visions of his father's demise tormented him, and he heard his master's voice over it. 

_"That night, they killed him in cold blood, strung him up in the gallows, the King and Captain agreed he was to be used as an example that traitors paid with their lives."_

He snapped his eyes open again. He hated Corona and everything it stood for! This was it. The Sunshine Kingdom falls right now! First Old Corona then New Corona. "Hellfire, light up the night! Dark fire destroy everything in sight, ashes to ashes dust to dust, release the spirit, release the spirit!" He panted heavily as he watched it go, that speeded things right up as the walls of fire had spread out further across the land, he did not even notice all the innocent woodland creatures that ran for their lives just like the humans had done the night before. 

* * *

The ride to Old Corona was not as smooth as they expected as some of the Serpents had caught sight of them and chased after them, zapping all sorts of spells, Sam, Charlie and Harry had been able to beat most of them. It was complicated being three against six! To say Cass was shocked would be an understatement, terrified, yes! 

"AHH!" Sam screamed as the one side of his goggles shattered, one of them struck his eye, intending to blind him partly, he lost his balance and fell, Cassandra had fallen to as a none magical person could not power a magical broom. 

"AHHHH!" She screamed as she plummeted to the ground then gasped as she felt something grab her by the waist, she dared to look up for a moment she had the awful thought one of the Serpents had captured her, but it was Charlie! 

"Get on my broom!" Charlie shouted, groaned as he was not particularly strong but managed to get her in front of him to protect her better. 

"W-What about... Sam?" Cass gasped, she looked down and watched helplessly as he continued to fall. Harry zoomed down to his aid while striking the remaining Serpents. Once the coast was clear, he aimed his wand at Sam just before he crashed onto the ground. "Arresto momentum!" 

This charm slowed Sam down enough to reduce the impact, so when he hit the ground, it was more like he had fallen over rather than plummet from a tall height. Harry landed smoothly and knelt by his side as expected he had lost consciousness, he had turned him onto his back to see what kind of injury that was inflicted on his face, there were cuts and scrapes from the shattered glass shield, but then he gasped in horror as his left eye was badly damaged. He was not sure he could fix that. 

Cass held onto the broom so tightly she felt aches in her hand, she shook her head frantically on the lookout for any more Serpents, she doubted that was the last of them, just how many members did The Shadow Man have? She had only heard a couple of names, but there was many more that maybe Meg did not even know of. 

"Hold on!" Charlie shouted which was pretty obvious but probably a heat of the moment kind of thing as he prepared to land right outside of Varian's house. 

"Woah," Varian gasped as he had seen a huge fireball explosion shoot up in the sky, he had gotten all of his gear on, but it still shocked him how far the ex-solider had gone. 

"Varian!" 

He jumped at the sound of Cassie's voice. He ran outside, his heart sunk when he had seen the terrified look on her face. "C-Cassie, hey, what happened? Where's Sam?" 

"W-We got attacked by some of the Serpents! Sam had fallen off his broom... H-His brother Harry had gone down to help him! T-They tried to kill us... I only just survived b-because of Charlie!" Cass cried. 

Varian's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped slightly, these people were worse than he thought, he gulped, the knot in his stomach had gotten tighter, he thought it was just as well he moved the equipment to his underground base by the boilers he had been working on. "Come with me. We can wait out underground for the fire to calm down. It's safer for us down there!" 

Cass nodded and followed after him, she glanced at Charlie who looked just as shaken as her, she figured he would be worried about his brothers but had to push on to keep her and Varian safe until back up arrived, he still had his wand out. His eyes shifted left and right on the lookout for any more of them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooo! That was very close, be careful Varian and Cassandra!  
> This had gone longer than I had originally planned, the next part will come very soon!


	52. The Great Fire of Old Corona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete has done an Elsa and 'let it go.'  
> Problems arise in Team Awesome's plans which puts a spanner in the works and disaster strikes.  
> Will Cass, Varian and Charlie are getting prepped for battle.

Cass sighed as she sat inside the underground base. She waved a piece of paper over her face. She had no idea how long they were going to be down there, just hoped it was not too long. She watched as Varian paced back and forth, also nervous about what would happen in the woods on the look for the Phoenix Flower. He sighed as he thought this whole thing was just a nightmare, Pete going way off the rails, becoming a human bombshell. It was unbelievable when the giant fireball that shot up in the sky, how it had spread out so fast. He wondered if Pete was mind-controlled again or if he had gone onto the dark side for real?  
"You have really made your peace with Stan," Cass said. She surprised that he had even offered to help her on this mission after he had tossed him out into a red alert blizzard.   
"Yeah, although it took some time though, it was more Pete than him... Sometime after the Treasure Hunt, I had come across him in the castle... He asked if he would like to talk." His voice trailed off as he had a flashback.

* * *

That day Varian sitting by himself in a corner, hunched up with his head against his knees with Ruddiger beside him he gently patted his shoulder, he was low because it seemed like no matter how hard he tried people would still push him away. Felspar making snide comments about him looking for another kingdom to overthrow, gaslighted by guards calling him an 'attention seeker' and other nasty things. He sometimes got cold glares from Pete, which seemed very ironic now.

"Hi." 

Varian did not even need to look up to know whose voice that was, Stan the Guard, he recognised his low voice, although he did not do anything to him during his prison time apart from taking him in and out of the wagon, escort him to the trial, and back, the only thing he did that got on his nerves after his release was insisting that stealing Xavier's hot air balloon was within the rules. He would have thought it would be clear that sabotaging another contestant's chances would be cheating but never mind. He was still wary of him since he had seen the not so nice side of the 'Friendly Neighbourhood Royal Guards' on the day of the blizzard, but surprisingly, Pete was worse. He heard him sigh again and some footsteps, Ruddiger tensed up as he had come to dislike the iron men. 

"I see you're still getting grief from the locals about the incident with the Queen and Princess. I am also guilty of that. I was too rough with you. It's just when Nigel called us over I thought you were-"

"Upsetting Rapunzel, yeah, I know... Orders are orders; they say jump, you say how high?" Varian muttered. "Like show dogs jumping through hoops for dog treats." 

Stan nodded, that was pretty much what being a Royal Guard was like, the problem was they had them on a leash if they dared to disobey an order they would get it in the neck. "Yeah I suppose that's why people call us the Royal Dogs, whenever King Frederic or Nigel says fetch, we have to go and get it, we used to see people get hung every day, we're told to shut off all emotions, go round like your metal giants. Just do what we’re told so after a while we lose our... Uh."

"Humanity," Varian said, he knew the guy was not good with words, he could not see where he was going with this. If Pete were to apologise, which seemed very unlikely, he could imagine him taking a long time to get to the point. "I know the toxic masculinity had gotten in your head, so you act like jerks sometimes." 

"Yeah, that, I mean I'm not trying to excuse what we did just try to explain it... I know now that you were not intentionally upsetting the Princess you were asking her for help to save your father who got trapped in amber, that was what you were trying to tell us to but me being a grumpy old man did not listen to you either," Stan said. "Peter got very nasty with you, I should have stopped him, but I had just stood back and watched like an idiot."

Varian scoffed, he had gotten that right. "It's not like you had never bent the rules before when Cap was not around." 

"We should have been more careful with you, it would have been best to just move you to another room where Nigel would not notice you, got someone to care of you, got you to evacuate with everyone else rather than chuck you out like garbage," Stan said.

"Who?" Varian asked as he raised his shoulders, typical he only thought of that a year later. 

"Maybe one of the maids or guards," Stan replied.

"Aren't you angry with me for drugging your mate?" Varian asked.

Stan shook his head. "No, it was naughty, but it was a good way to get your own back, making him embarrass himself in front of everyone."

Varian shrugged. "He does that every day anyway, he fell for it hook, line and sinker, he did not find it weird at all there was a strange guy in a bush offering him a spiked cookie."

"Pete would never turn down free food no matter where it came from, I mean I was angry with you at the time for all the chaos with the raccoon, the Queen and the Princess but once things had calmed down I realised that you were not the big, bad villain Frederic was making you out to be," Stan said as he knelt in front of him. "You were a young person who had been put in an awful situation and was crying out for help because you were at a loss with what to do, you had tried absolutely everything, you were trying to help solve the rock problem despite the risks it posed to your safety. You jumped throw the hoops, fetched the stick but got nothing back, it was very irresponsible of Pete and me to throw you out into that blizzard which was so bad it was life-threatening, you could have gotten seriously sick, or if you had fallen through the ice you would have drowned to death!"

"That's true, it was just will and dumb luck that I made it back home in one piece," Varian replied. "Pete said I could not go into the castle uninvited, but you already had citizens in there who are not normally in the castle, yet me coming was a problem!" 

“He just assumed they were which was wrong of him and me for allowing him to do that," Stan replied. "What I'm trying to say without rabbiting on is I am very sorry for the way I had mistreated you on the day of the blizzard and tricking you into bringing down the air balloon." 

Varian nodded, not the best apology he had heard, but it was decent, he admitted his wrongdoings and showed an understanding of his situation, but there was one more thing he needed to know. "You know, an apology without following through with it is manipulation if something like the amber incident happened again can you honestly tell me that you won't treat me as roughly as you did before?"

Stan had fallen quiet, he did not expect him to ask that, but he did have a good point, he certainly hoped he would not find himself in that situation again but if he did he would put his feelings and thoughts aside and help him. "If you do come running into the castle again, I promise I will be more careful and considerate of your feelings and not be thoughtless with your safety." 

Varian raised an eyebrow; he had been wary of the 'P' word to as it tended to be overused. "Seriously?"

Stan held out a hand to him. "Seriously, even if Pete tries to take over, I will do my best to stop you from getting hurt."

Varian paused for a moment then taken his hand. "Okay, I'll forgive you this time."

* * *

"He thanked me and even scolded Pete for it not that he had taken much notice... I can't make that guy out," Varian said as he flopped on his seat. "Most of the time he is happy and goofy then other times he's mean, I wonder what had led him to be like that." 

"Yeah, he doesn't always listen to Stan which is why they often bickered like I imagine siblings would, even though he had driven him nuts he still loved him like a younger brother at least one of them had attempted to make amends with you," Cass said. 

"As someone who was a middle child, I can confirm that," Charlie joked. "Sam and I used to drive Dad up the wall with our squabbles. There were times I had worn Sam out to,” he sighed as he rested his head on his knees. He was glad Harry had come along as he would not have been able to save both him and Cass at the same time, he hoped they would be somewhere safe from the Serpents.

"The stuff they argued about was never serious, just little random things,” Cass said then breathed out a sigh, one thing that worried her was how he would handle seeing Pete in this state and when he eventually got caught, his punishment was likely to be very severe, she could not see him getting off with a community service order. It was bound to break his heart and Lily's. They were all close friends like she was with Rapunzel and Eugene.

"I see little sibling kids about, and they sometimes do slap each other like they used to, sometimes thought Cap just sent them out to get some peace," Varian said. 

Cass chuckled lightly as she thought of back on it like the day they had slipped on the floor. “Yeah, I can believe that... You really think he has a mean streak?”

Varian sighed. “Yeah... Kind of, it was not too bad, I mean he rarely showed it, so people think he is a complete pushover. He does have real flaws, but maybe the whole goofy guard thing was partly an act to try and bury his negative emotions and his real self in part.”

“That’s kind of relatable when I was Rap’s handmaiden I was forced into a role I did not want. I put on a smile, played along then I just cracked,” Cass said.

“I know I can turn very nasty when I get to breaking point, I have found peace with myself, but clearly he hasn’t. Part of his anger is natural, but the Hate Potion had given him a stronger urge to act out on those thoughts. He is unable to rationalise now because he is practically blinded by hate for everything! I mean, I understand how he feels about his dad, but this is not the way.”

“All this is about his dad?” Cass asked.

Varian nodded. “Yeah, Eugene told me he had first overheard some guards talking about him. I had heard him talk to George about it while he was dismissed, he thought he had abandoned him then learned he had taken his own life after he had put him up for adoption.”

Cassandra sighed. She had no idea that he had been through something as heartbreaking as that. “I suppose The Shadow Man had twisted it round to vilify us to encourage him to take revenge like what Zhan Tiri did to me.”

“Sounds like something he would do, it is much easier to manipulate someone who does not know anything. Any ideas on how we are going to handle him if he does show up?” Charlie asked.

“I got a water gun. It’s just like the one I used for the amber; it will put him out if he gets flammable,” Varian replied. “I also have another idea to get him to calm down,” he rummaged through his box and pulled out a small bottle with green dust. “I’m guessing he needs to take a nap.”

Cass was a bit puzzled at first then the Penny dropped. “Good thinking.”

“What’s that?” Charlie asked.

“Sleeping dust, it knocks people out in seconds, and this much can last up to three hours,” Varian said then sighed. “If he’s going to play dirty then so can we.”

“True so if he attacks us you could just throw this in his face,” Cass said.

“There’s still another big problem, the other Serpents,” Charlie said. “They will try to stop us to, hit us with curses.”

“Knock them out,” Cass shrugged.

“They might hit you before you have the chance to, they’re sneaky,” Charlie replied.

Varian had started pacing back and forth then pulled a cover down, he had an automaton which was a secret from his dad. “I could take care of them for you.”

* * *

Peter panted as he wandered off through the woodland, Shadow had not given him many orders other than to create the Phoenix Flower and fight the guard. A rash developed on his neck and left cheek which would soon spread all over. He appeared to be unbothered by it. He watched as the fire had taken over the land, he had really let it go. The sky darkened to black and grey with hints of blood red, fogged with heavy clouds of smoke which amazingly did not do any damage to his lungs, the flames stood tall with a mighty glow. There was a loud crackling as the magical fire greedily consumed everything in its path, trees had collapsed unable to bear the torture any longer. He heard the cries of birds and other creatures as they tried desperately to get away, sadly some were trapped and suffocated from the smoke. 

He growled as he raised an arm and a wall of fire appeared in front of him as if it was not bad enough he added more. Corona was going to hell. It deserved it both sides were built on blood and so many lies. His dad was not a murderer. He had never done anything wrong; he did his best for them, when he was no longer useful to them, they had killed him off. He kicked a piece of broken rock and stared into space; he grimaced as he heard his voice in his head again.   
"They are the enemy. Someday soon, you will achieve your destiny of becoming The Dragon warrior."

He paused when he saw dragons flying across the sky, curious to see what was going happening. Some also helped to spread the fire out; he laughed as he thought of Shadow again. His nickname being Dragon Warrior, he hoped he would find the Phoenix Flower soon. 

He wondered when the guards were going to show up. He had already shocked the two that came to search for him. Trying to give away his position, he was tempted to hurt them but thought better to let them go, a bit of Goodwill. That was how it usually went anyway, as Mel had once told him, people playing nice for a bit then stab them in the back. 

He screamed as he blasted another fireball at a tree and watched it fall. Shadow could have used the imperious curse instead combined two potions. These were The Hate and Energy potions, it was just as powerful as that, unlike before he had no fear of the possible consequences of his actions. If he could, he would have backed out, every time he was about to stray away Shadow or his partners would bring him back under control. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, bored and frustrated as he could not see it anywhere. He kicked a pile of dead leaves. It seemed like it was going to go on forever. 

He could not wait to go back to the tower and see Mel. He had fallen hard for her pretty much since they had met. She was kind, funny, sweet and beautiful. He sighed as he remembered waking up hearing gagging. She had said she was sick. The flower may have been his destiny, seemed pointless without having someone he loved with him. She would be the next Phoenix, it would heal her and help her achieve her dream of being a stronger fairy; they would finally get a happy ending. 

* * *

  
"Eugene! Eugene!"   
Max reared in fright as Lance jumped in front of him, he had almost banged into him.   
"Lance, what's going on?"   
Lance panted heavily, sweating from the sprint from the treehouse to the village.   
Eugene sighed. He had been wondering where he was. "Lance, what is wrong?"   
"C-Catalina is missing! I-I can't find her anywhere!" Lance cried. "Keira is staying with Rapunzel. I don't want her to get hurt by those monsters!"   
Eugene groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, he had taken a deep breath then faced him again. His friend needed help at the same time he had to catch Pete. He would have to arrest him for arson, endangering the public as well as suspicion for murder. "Lance… I'm sorry, but I can't help you right now… Pete is on the loose. He is destroying Old Corona!"   
"Eugene, help me please!” Lance begged. "Y-You can't get him until later anyway… Mustang can do that for you! Catalina is only small… What if one of those Snakes has kidnapped her? To exploit her for her werewolf side? Y-You have to help me save her!" Lance begged he tugged at his arm. Max huffed, he supposed he was right, there was no way he was going to get through that fire. 

  
Eugene was quiet as he had not even considered that, would they take a child? From what he had seen, they were mostly adults. The youngest ones were in their mid to late teens.   
Joe had taken the initiative to move forward. "When was the last time you had seen her?"   
"Ah… Last night, Keira came crying to me that she was gone… I-I'm afraid she got caught up in last night's attack!" Lance cried. "I nearly went to the castle. Meg told me you had already left!"   
"I don't think they have taken your child… We caught all of those present," James said.   
"It's a possibility. They are very sneaky. They don't all come out at once… The Serpents would find having a werewolf beneficial, they are larger than a regular wolf and can give a nasty bite… Some of them are werewolves themselves or animagi," Mustang said. 

  
Lance narrowed his eyes as he had never heard of the second thing. "Ani-What?"   
"Animagi… Gives a witch or wizard the ability to change into any animal," Mustang explained.   
"Oh, that is sick," Joe sighed as he shook his head, it sounded very plausible that they used the early attack as a distraction to kidnap the child, he turned back to Eugene. "What are you going to do Cap? I think Lance is right. We can deal with Pete later… Old Corona is covered in a fire!"   
"What? You mean… All over? Including the village?" Eugene gasped, his eyes widened as his mind went straight to Cass, Varian, Sam and Charlie.   
"Well, that's a lot of smoke!" Joe said as he pointed to the opposite side of the bridge, the smoke could raise, the sky was partly black.   
Eugene's jaw dropped; he had not expected it to get that bad! "Cass and Varian are over there! W-We have to save them!"   
"We can't. It's not even safe for us to fly over there! We will choke from the smoke or our brooms will catch on fire!" Godric snapped. "It's too big for us to handle!"   
"W-What if Catalina is stuck in there?" Lance cried. "Pete could kill her!"   
"What the hell is that?" Greg said as he pointed at the sky, a green image emerged high above them, a pair of serpents slivering upwards then facing them with fangs bared.   
"Oh, no!” Mustang gasped as his eyes widened.   
Eugene looked in horror at the Aurora Captain. "What is that?"   
"It's the other dark mark… The Shadow Man's mark, they bring it up when they have… Killed someone, of course, they did not have the chance to do it last night," Mustang replied.   
"No… Y-You, d-don't think they had killed C-Catalina?" Lance whimpered as tears streamed down his face, thoughts running through his mind.   
"I-I don't know… I hope not," Eugene replied from what he heard they would likely not think twice about killing a child. One evil man tried to lure Quirin over by threatening to kill Varian; he figured he was the leader and wanted to cause further chaos by killing him. Luckily Sam was a quick thinker and stopped him in his tracks. He believed it when Mustang told him he was one of his best men. 

  
"What do we do now?" Phil asked. "Just wait around here? Wildfires take a long time to die down especially ones as big as this."   
"I know… I didn't expect this," Eugene sighed. "He had let it rip… Who would have thought just a little stone would be capable of causing so much damage?"   
Lance could not bear to look anymore; his mind was running wild with thoughts about the horror that his little girl could be put through. "T-The fire started when we realised Catalina was missing… I told Keira to go to the castle if any of the guards asked just say she needs to take shelter there as her home is burning down and her sister is missing! I hope she will get better treatment than Varian had."   
"I'm sure she will… It looks like either way we would have to wait out for the fire to at least mostly go down," Eugene said.   
"She is a fast runner, right? She could have escaped just in time before it escalated," Joe said as he pulled his horseback. "We might as well look around here in the meantime, if we can't find, her then some of us can search for her in Old Corona."   
Eugene was quiet as he thought it over; he was right on that she was very good at running and athletics; he certainly hoped this was the case. "Okay… That seems plausible… You five look over there," he pointed to the left side. "You five look over there!"   
Lance breathed a heavy sigh; his hands shook, he felt an ache in his stomach, his blood boiled with rage as he thought of those wicked witches and wizards tormenting his baby girl. "If those Snakes have dared to take my Cat I will kill them before they can even say abracadabra!"   
No one answered that as they had split up into their teams and began their search for her. 

  
"Catalina!" Eugene called out.   
"Catalina!" Joe shouted out. "Catalina, it's us… The Royal Guards… It's safe to come out now. There are no Serpents here."   
"Catalina!" Greg and Phil said at the same time.   
Lance listened as the guards and the Aurora called out her name and not once had they gotten a response. He opened his mouth to try. His voice got trapped; he suddenly became breathless. He crashed onto his knees, only his hands holding him up, more tears poured down his face. "No! No! No!"   
Eugene turned round along with a few other men, he hopped off Max and rushed towards him. "Lance, hey, buddy I'm going to need you to breathe better, okay?"   
Lance lifted his head, his lip trembled, his eyes puffed pink, his arms shaking.   
"Okay first breathe in," Eugene said, remembering how he and Xavier helped David through a panic attack.   
Lance had taken a shaky but deep breath in.   
"Hold for a second."   
Lance blinked and held his breath.   
"Now, breathe out," Eugene said.   
Lance breathed out a heavy sigh. 

  
"Poor, fellow… I hope we do find, Catalina," Will said as he and Ron searched through some trees.   
"Yeah… I do too, after seeing what has been done to Peter, I dread to think what they would do to her," Ron replied.   
Will nodded. "What a mess… Just one thing after another isn't it? Hopefully, the next year will be better."   
Ron scoffed. "You say that every year."   
Will sighed and shook his head. "I'm right some of the time, glad I'm almost done… I don't know how much more of this madness I can-"   
Before he had a chance to finish, he was shocked by one of the magical guards crash landing on his broom; he laid motionless on the grass. 

  
Ron had taken a deep breath and approached him, judging by the size of his body he was young, about Cassandra's age or Eugene's. He was out cold and very pale, he had an oval-shaped face, dark brown hair one lock had fallen out from his helmet, a few freckles, roughly around his mid-twenties.   
Will knelt beside him and felt his wrist one of the things he had learnt over his time in the guard, his heart sunk as he failed to find a pulse. "I think this is the one the Serpents had just killed… You should go and inform Mustang."   
Ron nodded then slowly walked to the other side of the bank he had gotten some puzzled and worried looks from his colleagues, wondering where Will was, what was wrong? 

  
Eugene gulped as he feared the worst as he, Ron looked like someone who was just about to give bad news, something tragic, he had the awful thought that Catalina was dead.   
"I need to talk to Mustang, Sir… It's an issue with one of his men," Ron replied.   
Mustang returned to Eugene's side at that instant. "What happened?"   
Ron breathed another sigh as it pained him to see the young man killed like that. "Will and I… Had looked through those trees… One of your men had fallen from his broom and… Died."   
Mustang sighed, he was saddened but not shocked, he closed his eyes and turned his head left for a moment, he had a sinking feeling it was either Sam or Charlie.   
"Oh… Cap, I'm so sorry," Eugene said, he was relieved it was not what it looked like but still felt sympathy for his fellow Captain who had just lost one of his men.   
"Thank you, Mr Fitzherbert… I shall go and identify him when we return I will inform the next of kin," Mustang said then followed Ron to the scene. 

  
Eugene sighed as he bowed his head, he felt awful for that man’s family, he turned around and looked back at the fire it was dreadful how it had taken another beating the people worked so hard to restore the village from the damage the rocks had caused, it was literally going to go up in smoke. He could not for the life of him understand why Pete was doing this. Sure he was upset about how his dad was treated, what could he possibly hope to achieve from this? It was not like it would bring him back and what he had been told was untrue. It could have been resolved if he had returned home earlier, he had just made things worse for himself, he could not see how anyone could convince Frederic that he was not a killer after all this.   


* * *

Catalina ran as fast as she possibly could from the fire that had grown larger by the second as the flames hungrily consumed the trees and everything else in its path. She had seen all sorts of wildlife evacuate the woodland as well. She headed for high ground. She did not notice Pete in the distance as he chased after her, she had frozen for a moment and stared in horror at the wall of flames that seemed to have begun closing in on her, she had fallen into a coughing fit as the smoke sneaked its way into her little lungs. It quickly came to a point where it got too much, and she collapsed, she looked up and seen Pete. Usually, she would have been scared by the cold expression on his face, but she was too light-headed to recognise him within seconds she had passed out.

Pete knelt and tilted her head up; he could still hear her breathing which was a relief, he groaned as he thought she was foolish to come out to the woods on her own, even if there was not a fire anything could have happened to her. He lifted her and slumped her over his shoulder; he quickly looked around for a gap in the wall of flames, luckily there was one right in front of them just about big enough for them to pass through. He sprinted straight to it and carried on down the path until a burning tree had fallen in front of them, he turned right and managed to get through it, his eyes darted left and right as the flames spread out on either side. When they came to the river where he had almost drowned Dan they were at a dead end, he had no choice but to jump in; fortunately, it was calmer than it was that day, he moved Catalina under him and swam across it. Once they got onto the other side, she coughed a few times as she came around.

She blinked several times as he stared into space with a dazed look on her face. “W-where am I?”

Pete sighed as he knelt beside her. “The other side of the Old Corona woods… That hasn’t been burnt yet.”

Catalina gasped at the sound of that voice; it sounded strangely familiar to her, she turned around and looked up. She remembered him from the Herz Der Sonne treasure hunt, and like everyone else, she was shocked by the scar. “Pete?”

Pete narrowed his eyes at her. How did she know his name? Then he remembered The Wanted posters; he would have thought she would be more scared of being alone with a suspected murderer.

Catalina gasped as she realised she was no longer in the fire. “You saved me… Why?”

“Well, if I didn’t you would have choked on the smoke and been cremated… You’re welcome,” Pete replied in an unusual cold tone.

“W-What happened to you?” Catalina said as she stared at him in shock, he was like a completely different person to the guy she had always known him as, the goofy, clumsy guard that was a bit too clingy to his mate.

Pete sighed as he turned around and shook his head. “You don’t want to know, kid.”

“I-I heard you had taken a stone that brings out fire… Why?” Catalina said, although she tried not to show it she was creeped out, she had never seen the darker side of him before, she watched as he got up and walked away.

“Pete! Where are you going?” Catalina cried as she chased after him.

“I’ve got… Stuff to do,” Pete replied. “Go home.”

“I don’t have a home now! It’s been burnt down!” Catalina snapped. “Why are you burning Old Corona?”

Peter did not reply; he looked up and seen Raven in bird form. “Ah now you decide to show up, can you tell me what is going on? Shadow and you were banging on about a fight, I’ve been out for hours, and no one has shown up.”

“Well they can’t since you know, the place you were in had gotten covered in the fire!” Raven said.

“You said to burn the place to the ground,” Pete muttered.

“I was joking! I didn’t mean it literally!” Raven snapped then sighed as he noticed he was drenched. “Why did you get wet? You know you’re useless with water!” He waved his hand and hit with a gust of wind that dried him up.

Pete narrowed his eyes as he turned to him. “How?”

“I have toned down the fire a bit some of the other Serpents can come and help you out, we’re going to have to be sneaky,” Raven said, he paused when he noticed Catalina. “Oh, what do we have here? A lost girl reminds me of a certain someone.”

“I found her in the woods, she got caught up in the fire,” Pete replied then turned to her. “I told you to go!”

“I’m telling you to stop!” Catalina cried. “I get your mad about what happened to your dad and being blamed for that guard’s death, but this is not the way! Don’t be the-“

“Bad guy I know! Well, they should have thought of that before they killed my dad,” Peter said and growled as he clenched his fists. “Get out of here!”

“Pete… Come on. This is not going to help you… It’s not like anyone can bring him back, there are lots of people who had nothing to do with it, yet you’re making them suffer by destroying their home, can't you see how unfair it is on them? Take your anger out on the King, not everyone else!” Catalina cried. 

“As if he listens to a thing anyone says… Raven, take her away,” Pete said.

Catalina bared her teeth and growled, she did not want to do it, but she felt her canine blood boil, if that weirdo got any closer to her she would give him a big bite.

“Right,” Raven replied and smirked, he sensed a part of her was supernatural as her eyes glowed red, he drew his wand flicked, and she was out like a light. “Where should I take her?”

“Anywhere, just make sure she doesn’t get in the way again,” Pete said then ran off. 

Raven nodded then went on the move, further down the wood; the spell would keep her asleep for an hour or two, he paused when he had seen black mists in the sky, the first fight was soon going to start. He supposed since she was partly magical, she could apparate with him, he shot his wand up and disappeared.

Pete ran down the land to try and find another bridge to pass through to get back to where he was. He was frustrated with the way things were going. He needed the Flower to achieve his destiny and help Mel. He paused when he had seen another Serpent Witch. She was quite tall, she wore a short black and green dress, on the left side of her chest there was an emerald opal which matched her hair which was styled in a short bob, heart-shaped face fair-skinned and dark brown eyes. "I see you got sidetracked." 

"Well, I couldn't have just left the kid to burn to death," Pete said. "Can you tell me what the hell is going on? We're supposed to be fighting today, right?" 

"Patience, dragon... I am Ivy, a witch and I have the power of Earth," Ivy said as she held her hand out and a black rock emerged between them. "Which seems fitting since my name comes from a plant, Raven is air." 

Pete stared at her, he had never known this before, then remembered what Shadow said when they left. "You're supposed to be looking after Mel!" 

"Oh, she's fine... Although she might just be pregnant," Ivy said as she waved her hand dismissively then held it out to him. 

Pete's eyes widened, his heart skipped a beat. "W-What? How could she be pregnant, we haven't even-" 

"You can talk about that later, we've got work to do, now hold my hand. You can apparate with me." 

Pete sighed and did as instructed, and in seconds the pair of them disappeared. 

* * *

A few hours had passed, and Varian dared to take a look to see if the village was still standing, much to his horror it was not, the sky was a bloody red, and black, rows of shops and buildings were destroyed, they had all lost their walls and roofs, just sticks of charcoal, he had passed the old grocer shop, and it collapsed. He was glad he had gotten the villagers out last night, the death toll would have been far worse otherwise. Cass had followed after him with Charlie, they both had the gear on, her jaw dropped, and her eyes widened, she could not believe what she was seeing, it was… She could not even think how to describe it, she never thought she would see it in an even worse state than it was in with the black rocks although it did explain why she felt hot, he looked at Charlie, he did not seem surprised or shocked at all. “I’ve seen this before when I was young in Amestria… At least no one was killed this time.”

“Now, they don’t have a home to go back to or life stock to work with, we’re screwed! Thanks a lot, you stupid ex-guard!” Varian yelled. “You just had to burn my home down didn’t you? That’s it! Charlie, you go and get that damn flower with Cass, I’ll watch your back for the Serpents, don’t want you to end up like your brother!” He climbed into his automaton and powered it up.

Cass had taken a deep breath as she looked back at the woodland, this was it, she was going to do it. 

"Stay close, the Serpents will be slivering about, might see Shadow," Charlie said as he led the way. "They don't always fly up; usually, they hide in the shadows." 

Cass nodded. "I figured they came up to try and stop us from coming." She sighed as she moved towards the woods. There was still a lot of fire, but they could pass through. "I can't believe I'm doing this." 

"Well, it's happening, I didn't expect it to come this soon though, maybe take a year to work on his skills with the magical power... Seems like he doesn't have the patience for that which I think will be his downfall," Charlie replied. He looked up and seen Varian high up above them. "What the heck is that thing?" 

"An automaton, he thinks he can hold them off with that, it would protect him more than armour... Which he has a point, it didn't save Sam," Cass said. 

Charlie hummed as he looked at the red window. "I'm not sure about that... They could smash that window with the confringo charm... If Pete touches the flame, we will all get blown away. I wonder if Shadow told him that?" 

"Wait so... His skin wouldn't even burn?" Cass asked the same thing happened with Raps hair and the rocks, but this made no sense to her. 

"Magic is weird, best not to question it," Charlie said as he shook his head, he held his wand tight and scanned their horizons on the lookout for any Serpents. 

* * *

The atmosphere in the Bader's household was awful as Lily, David, Patch, Woodlock gathered around the bed, Stan was at his worst point, his tired heart had become dangerously slow, his exhausted brain was shutting down as just breathing was an uphill struggle. It baffled the doctors that he was even able to hold out for more than a day without life support which unfortunately had not been invented.

“Stan, come on, stay with me!” Lily cried as she tightly held his hand and rubbed his arms, her eyes were bloodshot from all the tears that streamed down her face as his breathing became more shallow, he just had to hold on for a little longer then he could be healed. “Hold on... J-Just hold on! Don’t you go and die on me now Stanley Bader!”

David sighed, they knew he did not have a choice, he could not stop himself from dying. 

"Mrs Bader... This is out of his control, he has been trying very hard to stay alive even when he had thought of dying," Woodlock said. 

David knelt beside her as she put her head on the mattress and cried loudly, he gently rubbed her shoulders, she gripped at the sheet tightly. He had taken a deep breath and began to sing his special song for what seemed like the last time. "Remember me, while I am away, think of the good times, remember me... Try not to cry even when we are islands apart you will always be in my heart." 

"I-I'll sing this song each day we are apart, p-people we love will n-never g-go a-away," Lily tried to sing, she was off-key and shaky from the nerves. "R-Remember m-me, while I am gone... R-Remember me when you feel sad, e-even though we are i-islands apart... U-Until w-we m-m-meet again." She raised her head to take one more look at him, she could not bring herself to say the last line or to say goodbye. Her eyes widened as she stared at him in horror, he hiccuped once then his chest had fallen and never raised again, Death had come and collected his soul.“No, no, no!” She wailed as she threw herself over him. “Stan! Stan!”

Dave put a hand over his eyes, it was painful to watch, the poor woman was heartbroken. It was just what he feared, by the time they got the flower it would be too late. “I’m so sorry Lilian..”

He put a hand on her shoulder and let her lean on him for support, it was like someone had pushed a knife in her back and twisted it was too late! 

"I'll leave you to say your goodbyes," Woodlock said then exited the room. 

"I-I can't! I can't!" Lily cried as she bowed and howled like a wounded dog, David kept silent as he supported her to make sure she did not fall over, he had gotten tearful himself and bit his lip he was not sure if the Phoenix Flower was capable of resurrecting the dead. Patch whimpered as he hopped up and licked his face not understanding that he was dead until he failed to get a reaction out of him, he laid down and nuzzled up close to his master. 


	53. The Fight For The Phoenix Flower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cass, Charlie and Varian begin the search for The Phoenix Flower, they run into some trouble will they succeed in getting the flower or will Pete beat them to it now he does not have Eugene, Lance and the guards to take him away?  
> There is one chance to save Stan and the baby, it is now or never!

"What's the story behind the Fire Stone?" Cass asked.

"Oh... Well, it was a long time ago in Amestria... Before the revolution, a small rock was hit by a bolt of lightning and turned red. This was clearly no ordinary bolt as it caused it to create an inferno which lasted for weeks, the Aurora had tried hard to put it out with the Aqua charm but still was incredibly difficult to control," Charlie said. "Part of them had to get people to evacuate the village just like the leader of this one had done... Later they found a single seductive blood-red opal that had the power to destroy all who would threaten it. Lord Rammstein had decided it was best to keep it locked away in the castle where no one else could use it... There was a rise in pure-blood supremacy, people who come from a long line of wizards and witches. He could see it being used as a weapon against the non-magical community or those like me who are a mix like me. He created protective charms, so only those who were not pure blood could take it to use in war. King Charles, the Phoenix King at the time, disagreed, he tried to destroy it, but the stone was not willing to go. He sent everyone away, gathered his most trusted soldiers to make sure the nothing came of the Fire Stone's creation and called ourselves the Aurora which means dawn which seemed fitting since it used to be called The Kingdom of Light."

"Oh... That explains why The Shadow Man did not just get the stone himself. I don't think Pete is magical, is there any signs for that?" Cass asked.

"Signs of magic usually start showing up at age 11. It plays on our emotions when we are angry. We can make things disappear or blow a person up like a balloon... I had done that once with a guy who was calling me a filthy mudblood, has he ever done anything like that?" Charlie asked.

Cass shook her head. "No, I don't think so... Maybe I could ask Stan, he knows him more than anyone."

"Oh... It would be too late to recover the rest of his memories. Dad was only able to saver a small section as it was the next day, and it was caused by a potion created with black magic. They are gone forever," Charlie said. "I had spent years trying to make a cure and counterspell for obliviate charm but have been unsuccessful... His short term memory might be better. I have never tested it with the Phoenix Flower before since they are scarce."

Cass was gutted to hear that all those memories were lost forever, but she nodded. "Yeah, I can see why... They say a phoenix raises from the flames but did it really have to be this much?"

"Well, it does have to be big, but he has gone over the top, the trouble is fire this big is uncontrollable... It seems like there is a darkness in his soul that he is stuck in, if he does not get out of it soon it will destroy him as it had done to The Shadow Man's father, Alexander Campos," Charlie said.

Cass sighed, she had heard some of the guards say he was 'too far gone' she did not want to believe it, but sadly it looked like that was going to be the case, but she was curious about The Shadow Man's Father. "What happened to him?"

"He was Lord Rammstein's partner; he was evil, power-mad and dangerous, he went behind his back calling himself Shadow to practice dark magic, which he, of course, disapproved of... Now you can see where the name The Shadow Man came from, anyway one day he tried to steal the Fire Stone by putting a non-magical person under the imperious curse to create a new Phoenix Flower,” Charlie said. "He was later banished, but the Aurora had beaten him to the flower, they had given it to Princess Phoebe who was terribly ill with a mysterious illness. On her sixth birthday The Shadow Man returned and next thing the Steiner Royal family knew they were under attack, they were killed with the Killing Curse, but people still believe that Phoebe is alive, she would be in her mid-thirties now."

Cassandra's eyes widened slightly, that was about how old Meg was, she shook her head no, she was not even from Amestria, she was from Varderos then again so was Eugene at least that was what he thought until he reunited with his long lost father, she was surprised that whoever attacked was able to do it all at once. "Why couldn't the Aurora have stopped them?"

Charlie breathed a heavy sigh as he shook his head. "They were put under the imperious curse. They were forced into killing them."

Cass gasped. "That's awful!"

"Yeah, history is messy and ugly, but we have to look at it," Charlie said, he breathed a heavy sigh as he wondered how much further they would have to go to find this flower, he glanced up to see Varian right beside them, he imagined he was enraged with the devastation that had been inflicted on his home. Not that he could blame him, he would have felt the same way if it was him and Amestria was not already like a ghost town. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard another pair of footsteps. He had frozen up to listen out for it more then he spotted him. He was a large muscular man with a black tunic and robe, light-skinned from what he could see as he wore a half skull mask.

"Stupefy!" Charlie yelled.

"Protego!" The man yelled, nine more appeared from the darkness between the trees.

"Get behind me Cass," Charlie said as he tried to think of how the heck to get past them. "Flippendo!"

The man dodged it and aimed his wand at Charlie's chest. 

"Avada-"

"Stupefy!" Charlie yelled and this time succeeded in stunning him, but at the same time, another one attempted to fire him.

"Avada Ked-"

Varian kicked him down then went after the rest of them. "Cass, Charlie go on ahead! I'll catch up!"

The Serpent witches and wizards stared at the metallic giant, it was like nothing they had ever seen before, they cowered further into the shadows, but some got a hard hit with the claw, moaned and groaned as they were crushed. 

"AAAHHH!" 

"AAHHH!" 

"AAHHH!" 

"AHHH!" 

After a few minutes, he dropped them onto the ground they crumpled in agony. 

"Come out and fight Stefan, you cowardly snake!" Varian yelled. "I am going to crush you!"

Shadow appeared in a puff of smoke, right in front of him.

"Ah, ha!" Varian moved the lever down, snatched him like a doll and just like he said begun crushing his ribs. "This is for you Ruddiger!"

Stefan groaned as he felt the steel claws dig into his body, he struggled hard against it, which clearly did not work. 

"You think us non-magical people are weak, well I've just proved you wrong!"

"Ahh!" Stefan screamed as he felt the searing pain as though he was under the torture curse. "AHHH!"

"Confringo!" Raven shouted out, the arm that held his master had dropped off. Two more witches appeared and repeated the same spell. The automaton had lost a leg, unable to balance it collapsed. 

"No! No! No!" Varian cried.

Charlie had frozen at the sound of Varian's screams, he turned around, and to his horror, he was down, and the remaining Serpents were crowding around him.

Cass gasped as he apparated to in front of Varian.

"Oh, look... I-It's W-Woodlock's... Boy... I... Have... Already... Taken One... Of... You... Down," Stefan said between breaths as he got himself back up and glared at him. 

"Shut up! I'm not afraid of you!" Charlie snapped. "Your threats won't work on me, I don't care if you kill me, it's not like I have anything to live for anyway, you won't get away with this." He held out his wand and aimed it straight at him. 

"Oh, you want to fight now?" Stefan growled as he picked up his wand from the ground. "You're just like your fake father, reckless with a death wish and foolish like your fake brother." 

"Shut up! I for one are glad you don't have any offspring, biologically or otherwise, you would raise them to be as twisted as you are like you have done with Melanie!" Charlie yelled. He panted as his mind went blank, trying to think of the right spell. "Expellia-" 

"Avarda Keda-" 

"Woah," Varian gasped as he watched the beams meet, Charlie's was red, and Stefan's was green. 

Raven moved forward to try and help him. 

"Stand down. I've got this!" Stefan snapped despite the way the younger man was overpowering him, and he groaned as his injury had drained his strength, but he pushed through. 

Blue ghosts appeared by Charlie's shoulders, a man who had short hair with a swift fringe like him. He was quite tall, a head bigger than him, there was also a woman who was close to his height with long, dark flowing hair. 

"Charlie, when it stops apparate with Varian, the flower is just a little further down the woodland then go straight back to Woodlock and tell them what happened!" 

Charlie was very confused, this did not normally happen, how were they here, he looked forward, and his heart dropped, he had seen his younger brother in ghost form. "Harry!" 

"I tried to find you after Sam was returned to the castle, but I got hit with the killing curse," Harry said. "See Sam and Dad before you leave." 

Charlie nodded, his heart was banging in his chest as he tried to keep it up. 

"Let go, honey, let go!" His mother cried, the moment Charlie stopped his parents and brother rushed to Stefan, knocking him far back, he crashed into a tree, the pains in his ribs intensified. 

"Come on!" Charlie said as he held Varian's hand and with a flick of his wand, the pair of them disappeared. 

Varian gasped, it all went so fast, he was still shocked by how easily they had taken down the automaton with a spell that made things explode even something as tough as their metallic exterior, he supposed it could have been worse, one of them could have killed him before Charlie got there. When they reappeared, they found themselves deep in the woodland. Cass was just a little bit ahead of them. "Cass, are you alright?"

"I think I've found it," Cass said as she stood behind a bush, she sounded very excited to have found it just as it was growing. Varian and Charlie moved closer to her. The three watched in awe as a stem emerged from a pile of ashes, the leaves had grown, following a red flower bud which bloomed in a beautiful ruby and golden flower, the curved stems faced each other like the Sun-Drop it glowed very brightly. 

Varian's eyes widened, he was just baffled. "How in the-"

"Don't question it," Charlie said.

"Shh!" Cass hissed, she bent down left, right and behind them. "Pete could come any minute; we have to be quick." She made her way to the flower all the while looking and listening out for him. There was nothing. She bent down to pick a petal.

"You may as well take the whole flower, it is going to be uprooted anyway and whatever Pete is going to do with it can't be good," Varian said.

"I know but what if uprooting it completely will make the fire worse?" Cass said, she turned around and plucked the bottom petal then gotten herself up, she paused to check for any signs of a fourth person in the area; still, there was nothing. She jumped when she heard footsteps behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and seen Charlie. "What are you doing?"

"The Shadow Man had just killed my brother as if it's not bad enough that he has already taken one of my siblings, Varian's right! It will only be mistreated if he takes it," Charlie snapped as he grabbed the flower from the stem. There was silence. "See? It has not affected the fire. The darkness had already passed; this is the light."

Cass sighed. She was not so sure about that. "Charlie, I'm sorry about your brother but-"

"We have to hurry! He could turn up any-"

He was cut off as a wall of fire appeared in front of him. "Minute."

They moved back to back on high alert. They were unable to see Pete anywhere. Charlie drew his wand and Varian held up his water gun and taken down the fire.

They had almost gotten hit by another blast.

"It's coming from there... Come on, Peter, show yourself!" Varian shouted as he turned right, he then suddenly crumbled to the ground screaming as though he was on fire burning all over, his head was splitting, he thought he was going to die.

"Varian!" Cass cried as she knelt beside him.

"I'll handle it," Charlie said as he passed the flower to Cass and followed the trail of light from the wand to fight the Serpent. "Expelliarmus!"

The torture stopped, Varian panted heavily as he sat up, he reached out for his water gun determined to bring Pete down, but before he grabbed it, a rock raised and broken it in half. "NO!"

"Charlie? Where are you? Charlie?" Cass cried as he had not returned, her heart dropped as she assumed the worse, she yelped as dodged another flame then walls of fire appeared around them, she looked forward, and Pete emerged from the darkness between two burning trees just like in her nightmares.

"AHH!" Charlie screamed. 

Cass shoved the flower into her bag, pulled a dagger from her boot and pointed it at him. 

"Hand it over!” He growled. 

"No, you are just going to abuse it!" Cass snapped. "Take it from me being the villain is not the way to go." 

“Ah yeah, I’m the bad guy now… Know why that is?” Pete said with a growl. He bared his teeth like a wild animal which creeped Cass out more than she would like to admit. 

"Well, doing all this does not make you any better than those who have hurt you... Not that you can remember anyway," Cass said. "You will stoop down to Shadow's level and then find you are left with nothing left to lose." 

"I'm not the villain, your precious King is and the other Captain," Pete said as he moved closer to her. "They wrongfully convicted my father and executed him. Now they are trying to do the same to me... It's not enough, and it will never be enough until you have endured the amount of pain and agony I have!"

"Pete, come on... I bet half of the things you have been told aren't even true, and most of the people had nothing to do... With whatever happened to you," Varian said. 

“My dad was not even Captain when your dad was there, you don’t even know how old you are do you?” Cass said as she dared to go closer to him.

"Shut up!" Pete yelled flames burst from his hand, they had a clear look at his face, the rash had spread halfway on his face, and his eyes were bloodshot. 

"That's not true, your father... Had taken his own life, yeah that guy has been telling you lies!" Cass said. "He's been playing you for a sap!"

"No, he's the only one who hasn't! He had shown me everything!" He shouted as he stared at her. 

"The same thing happened to me with a demon... She recreated painful childhood experiences of mine. She had taken everything out of context so I would stay on her side, given me the motivation to fight against everyone, to destroy Corona just like Shadow is doing with you!" Cassandra said. "This has to stop... Now!" 

"It will help when you give me back my flower, thief," Pete said. 

"It doesn't belong to you either," Cass retorted which just made him angrier.

"Actually it does, I created it with the Fire Stone, so the Phoenix Flower does belong to me," Pete said. "I've got a woman back home who is sick, so stop wasting my time and hand it over!" 

"A woman?" Varian narrowed his eyes and moved his head back. "Since when?" 

"Seriously? You're doing this for a chick?" Cass said as she looked at him with a deadpanned expression. 

"It's none of your business! Give back the flower!" Pete shouted. 

"No!" Cass snapped as she backed away, she saw him raise his hand about to blast her with fire, she made the split-second decision to punch him hard in the face, he backed off, it should have knocked him out, but there were zaps of red light, and he was up within minutes. He bared his teeth again and approached her, she went to hit him again, but she grabbed her arm and thrown her down, she yelped as she felt a part of her face get scorched. Her heart skipped a beat as he was on top of her which she never had to handle before but then she figured a way out, kneed him in the groin, he screamed as he backed up then lashed out at her again. She kicked his stomach, knocking him back a couple of metres but then he got up and shoved her against a tree. 

Varian watched as they fought hard, hitting, kicking, scratching, pushing and shoving. 

"AHHH!" Cass screamed as she had crashed onto the ground, she felt a hot pain in her left arm, it was red raw, it had only just healed, and now it had been burnt again. 

Pete looked at her with a cold-hearted look in his eyes, there was no remorse at all for hurting the young woman, he bent down and snatched her bag, he hissed when a rock hit his head. He turned around and seen Varian snarling at him. 

"What the hell is wrong with you? How dare you burn Cassandra's arm!" Varian yelled. "Burn my home! Which was also yours once upon a time!"

"Shut up, pipsqueak, she should have given me the flower when I told her to," Pete said.

Varian grabbed the bag. "Looks like Joe was right, you are too far gone... There's no saving you now."

"I don't need to be saved... They have pushed me to this!" Pete snapped.

"Ah come on, you're just ridiculous now! W-What are you supposed to achieve from this? It's not going to bring your dad back, and surely there is a better way to solve your girlfriend’s problem! Either way, it does not excuse your behaviour, even if you are found innocent for that guy's murder, you will still be punished for the crimes you did commit!" Varian said then raised his other arm. "For instance, arson!" 

Pete growled these people were getting on his last nerve, he grabbed Varian by the collar and tossed him away like a ragged doll then laughed. "You three were all Corona had? Your Captain could not even be bothered to show up, all the panic for nothing... You guys make this too easy." He bent down and taken the flower from the bag then glared at them. "I could cremate you now, but I don't need to, so you are free to go." He had put out the firewalls then turned around left and looked through the spot where Charlie had gone. "You can release him now, Ivy!" 

Cass had found a dropped flacon beside her and grabbed it. She remembered Varian's back up plan if he got too dangerous; she slowly got herself up while hissing through the pain in her arm. "Hey, Peter!"

He turned back to her with a cold glare. "What?" 

"Looks like someone needs to take a nap," Cass said and threw the green dust in his face, he blinked but did not show any sign of passing out.

"What was that?" Pete said as he looked at her with a puzzled expression, the Fire Stone protected him from inhaling anything, mysteriously which was how he was able to last so long in a middle of a raging fire. 

Cassandra's eyes widened as she looked at the flacon then at Varian who looked just as baffled as her. 

"I don't understand. You should have passed out right away!" Varian said. 

"Oh... Did you try to drug me? Cheater," Pete said.

"You burnt my arm!" Cass snapped. "I had only just gotten over it, you jerk!" 

Pete rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this... Leave now, or I might change my mind about letting you go." 

Cass and Varian looked at each other unsure what to do, they had tried everything, and it failed mostly because of magic, there was no reasoning, fighting just got them hurt more than him, not even potions worked. They both jumped when he suddenly collapsed in front of them. 

"Looks like the armour does not protect him from spells," Charlie said as he appeared behind him, he bent down and grabbed the flower. "Let's get going." 

Cass nodded and smiled. She was relieved they had succeeded, for a moment she was afraid they had lost. "Let's go and treat Stan and Harry!"

"Yeah! Team Awesome has won this round!" Varian exclaimed. 

"Yeah, I'll alert Mustang then the Aurora can deal with him,” Charlie said as he followed them out of the woodland, they were surprised that the Serpents were gone, he guessed they had retreated since their leader had fallen. They eventually returned to the underground base where Charlie had treated Cass for her burn wound so she could pull through the journey.

“W-We have to get going before the Serp- Ahh!“ She cried as the pain intensified.

“No, you should treat yourself first, that is very bad wound,” Charlie said and pulled out a chair for her.

“He’s right, Cassandra, you were only able to hold out long enough for us to get away, it looks awful,” Varian said as he stood beside her and sighed.

Cass groaned as she examined it, part of her sleeve got caught.

“Varian, do you have any scissors? I will have to cut the sleeve off,” Charlie said.

Varian nodded and handed him the scissors then watched as the medical wizard got to work, the burn was not as big as what she had gotten from Rapunzel in the Great Tree, it was much smaller but still agonising. He washed it with cold water from a canteen that he uses specifically for first aid. He then picked out a petal from the flower, poured more water into a bowl and dropped the petal into it.

“Swallow,” Charlie said as he passed her the bowl.

Cass had paused for a moment as she stared at it, she was going to wait until everyone else was treated to heal it but he was right, she had to take care of herself before she could try treating anyone else. She had taken a deep breath, drank it then recited the incantation like she had done dozens of times. “Flower unleash heaven’s light, share your power with me, turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed. Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me.”

There was a moment of silence, Cass watched in amazement as the burn had disappeared. “Wow.”

“Yeah… It’s a wonderful thing the Phoenix Flower but very problematic with its production,” Charlie said. “We could have really done without the massive fire.”

“I know, right? I think he was off his head on something again,” Varian said. “His eyes were bloodshot and a bad rash,” Varian muttered as he picked up his rucksack with the few supplies and clothing he had grabbed just before the fire started, that was gone to.

Charlie nodded. “That would be because of the Fire Stone, those things do terrible damage to the skin, it would have irritated the parts exposed such as his neck and head.”

Varian sighed as he shook his head, to say he was upset would be an understatement but he was too tired now, he just wanted to see what the Phoenix Flower was capable of out of curiosity and see if Stan would be completely better. He picked up his stick with the glowing alchemical containers and followed Charlie and Cassandra outside.

“Thanks for everything Varian, you have done an awesome job,” Cass said as she had hugged him.

Varian sighed as he bowed his head. “Well, I mean if it weren’t for Charlie, we would both be doomed.”

“Yeah, you are starting to become a better person,” Cass said as she turned to the wizard then back to Varian. “I think you should come with us to New Corona, just in case they attack you.”

Varian nodded, he did not want to stay here anyway, he had picked up some alchemical bombs and supplies just in case it did get ugly again. He watched as Cass hopped onto Charlie’s broom, holding onto his waist then shot up into the sky when had first flown she was nervous, but now she quite liked it.

Charlie smiled. He was also overjoyed that they had succeeded in their mission, made things up with Cass, he could not wait to get back to the castle and save his brother.

* * *

They had soon arrived in New Corona; Charlie landed gracefully in front of Stan’s house, Varian had caught up soon after, Cass had climbed off and rushed in, she did not expect to hear Lily crying, she went straight into the living room where she had seen her dad and Patch trying to comfort her.

“I’ve got the Phoenix flower!” She said.

“It’s too late! Stan has just died, the undertakers… Are taking him away now!” Lily cried. “T-Thank you for trying but... He is already gone... Just use it on someone else.”

Cass had frozen up for a moment. “No, no, it’s not… It can bring him back!”

Charlie breathed a heavy sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck, he was nervous himself, what if there was a time limit to raise the dead like there was with regaining memories. What if even after all this he did not get his brother back? 

“Well, we have to try… Come with me," Cass said as she held out her hand for her. 

Lily was hesitant; she could not understand how it would work he had been dead for three and a half hours. 

"Trust me; I've seen this before... Rapunzel used the last of the Sun-Drop power to bring Eugene back," Cass said.

Lily sighed. She did not know if she could bear to see his corpse again; she was afraid of seeing him die again. She jumped when she felt David hold her hand.

"It's possible that it can bring him back," David said. "It is Corona; after all, miracles come at very convenient times."

"The Phoenix symbolises resurrection as they die by bursting into flames then a chick arises from the ashes, it had brought back Princess Phoebe when she was stillborn," Woodlock said. "One reason why it's called the Phoenix Flower, that and it shares the same colours."

"Alright, here we go," one of the men said as they carried Stan's body out of the room, the one at the bottom had a quick look over his shoulder to make sure he did not miss a step. Stan was covered with a white sheet. He would be taken away for a week while his widow sorts out the funeral arrangements.

"Wait! Wait!" Cass cried out once they had gotten to the landing. "I can save him!"

The two men looked at her with a baffled expression. "What?"

"Miss, once someone is dead that's it, there's nothing anyone can do," the other undertaker said.

"I have the Phoenix Flower. The birds raise from the dead all of the time!" Cass said.

"Phoenix birds aren't real," the man in front of her said.

"It's true; it works just like the Sun Drop!" Varian said.

"They are, they just stay in magical areas," Charlie said. "Like Amestria, bring him in here."

Cass and Charlie moved aside to let the reluctant undertakers enter, they slowly laid Stan on the floor then stood back.

Cass had frozen for a moment. She was nervous. She had never brought someone back to life before, that was usually Rapunzel's thing. She knelt beside him, moved the sheet down to his waist, he had lost all colour in his face, cold despite it being warm. She pulled out the petal and went over the words of the incantation in her head one more time. Charlie then sat down next to her with a bowl of water and grinder. This was how they had gotten the flower in Arianna, Cassandra sighed and handed him the petal, she watched as he crushed it into a million small pieces, the water turned into a golden colour.

Cass had taken a deep breath as she poured it into his mouth; it was time for her to sing the incantation just like Rapunzel used to do. "Flower unleash heaven’s light, share your power with me, turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed. Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me.”

There was a moment of silence then a gold circle appeared on his chest, beams of gold and ruby red lights had shot up and spread out throughout the room, creating beautiful swirly patterns.

"Woah," Varian gasped as he watched it gleam and glow, it reminded him of the time Rapunzel had healed them with the Sun and Moon hybrid stone, he wondered if the same thing would happen with the Phoenix Flower and the Fire Stone in the final battle.

"Wow!" David gasped as he watched it in awe, Lily was amazed but still worried that it would not work.

"It's just like the Sun Drop," Cass said as she watched it. "How-"

"Mighty magic," Charlie muttered.

"Don't bother questioning it," Varian said.

After a few seconds, the lights stopped, they turned back to Stan, who was motionless for a moment then they had seen his chest move.

Lily had fallen on her knees, she bent down and put a hand on his chest as though she could not believe what she saw, her eyes widened, he was properly breathing. "S-Stan?"

He groaned as he stirred, he shook his head a couple of times as his brain was getting back into action then slowly opened his eyes, his vision was blurry at first, but then it cleared up. "W-What... H-Happened?"

"You were given a dangerous potion to silence you... It made it appear you were sick with a strange illness which caused brain damage and paralysis, which went a lot quicker than it should have, you had just died," Charlie said.

Cass could not believe it. She had just resurrected someone; she had succeeded. "Varian, Charlie and I had brought you back to life with the Phoenix Flower." She watched as he sat himself up; it was a relief that he had regained control of his limbs.

Stan's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped slightly. "Y-You did that... For me... Oh, gosh!" He had got the three of them in a big bear hug. "Thank you!"

"Your welcome," Cass said, she chuckled under her breath, she did not expect that, she had never gotten a hug from him before, it was nice. She had thought of giving them the bad news about Peter, how low he had sunk, he was too far gone to be saved, but this did not seem to be the right time for that.

"Aww, you three are absolute angels!" Lily cried as she hugged them to. "Thank you so much! Stan is the only family I have left... I would have lost him forever if it weren't for you!"

"You're welcome... Mrs, glad we saved your family," Varian said as he smiled, he got teary-eyed himself, he barely knew these people all he thought was a family in danger, and since he had made peace with Stan, he was willing to help save him to. He did not deserve to die like that. He thought when the time did come for him to die for real, it was due to natural causes and not slow with agonising pain.

"It's okay," Cass replied, she was normally not one for physical affection, but she was so glad to see her happy again and to have Stan back. She then remembered about the baby, she turned and faced Stan. "Let's see if you can pass on the healing power to your child with the incantation."

Stan was a bit puzzled at first then looked at Lily who had a bigger lump then he remembered she was pregnant. "O-Okay... How?"

"Put your hand over her womb and repeat after me," Cass said.

"O-Okay," Stan said as he moved closer to Lily and put a hand on the top of her womb.

"Flower unleashes heaven’s light, share your power with me," Cass said.

"Flower unleash heaven’s light... Share your power with me," Stan said, streaks of red and gold appeared in his moustache which was the only bit of visible hair he had.

David's jaw dropped he was surprised when Arianna had drunk the Sun-Drop she did not pick up on any of its power as it all went into Rapunzel.

Lily gasped, she did not think that such a thing was possible either.

Cass smiled; it was working. She did not have to break off another petal. "Turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed."

Stan had taken a deep breath then repeated the line. "Turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed."

"Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me," Cass said.

Stan smiled as he looked at his wife. She started looking more healthy and overjoyed that their child was going to be saved to.

"Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me."

Golden and rose-red beams of lights ran down Stan's arm and went into the womb. He jumped when he felt a little kick. "Oh... Gosh- T-The b-baby just moved!"

Lily gasped, she was speechless, the baby had not moved since last night, she thought she was about to lose their child to. "He, she has just kicked again!"

"That's awesome!" Cass exclaimed, she put an arm around Lily and pulled her into a big hug. "You're going to have a baby!"

"Amazing!" Varian gasped, he never thought it would be possible for its power to be spread from one person to another, he wondered if the baby would get healing powers to or just stay non-magical.

"Thank you! Thank you!" Lily cried as she held the younger woman tight, Cass breathed out a sigh and smiled. "You're welcome."

David was beaming. He was over the moon that all the damage the Evans had inflicted on them had been solved and bursting with pride for his daughter, Woodlock, on the other hand, looked more concerned.

"What's wrong, Mr Woodlock?"

The potions master sighed as he glanced at the floor. "The Phoenix Flower is a mighty artefact, even with just a single petal it can be passed on... I am concerned that what had happened to your Princess Rapunzel could happen to their child."

David's eyes widened, he had not thought of that, but he had a point, no one thought anyone would dare to take the newborn Princess, but Gothel did. The question was, what could they do?

"What?" Lily said as she turned to them.

"Don't worry, Lily, I'll protect our child," Stan said.

Woodlock sighed again. "That might not be possible... The Shadow Man could break in and kill you both with the Killing Curse then take the baby... You will need to be protected as will you Cassandra and Varian. He will want to take revenge for taking the flower."

"What do you mean by protection?" Cass said.

"Go into hiding. You will need a secret keeper who will keep your location confidential... You must choose this person carefully, sadly what sometimes happens is people chose the wrong ones, and they betray them," Woodlock said. "You have some time to think about it."

Lily gasped, the possibility of someone taking their child what happened to Rapunzel terrified her but in that way was horrifying, the problem was she could not think of anyone who could be their secret keeper... She would have chosen Pete, but he was away and in The Shadow Man's clutches.

"It's okay, Lily, we... Can figure something out," Stan said. 

Cassandra sighed, she struggled to think of who to chose as well, neither Raps nor Eugene was good at keeping small secrets or big ones but would they manage something as serious as this? Who was the one person she trusted the most. She snapped out of her thoughts as Charlie had gotten up and moved to his father. 

"Dad... S-Sam got injured with the cutting curse and- and Harry was killed, I picked up a part of the flower to heal them," Charlie said. 

"I see, while it will work on Harry, I'm not sure about Sam, that would depend on the severity of his injury if he had lost a part it won't be able to regrow it," Woodlock replied. 

"Would you like me to help you, Charlie?" Cass asked as she moved next to him. 

Charlie paused for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah... I would like your help with the words." 

Cass nodded then turned back to Lily and Stan. "Glad to see you back, Stan... Good luck with the baby Mrs Bader." 

Lily laughed as she hugged her. "Oh, you don't have to be so formal... You can just call me Lily." 

"Thank you so much for everything-" Stan's voice trailed off as he had struggled to recall her name. "W-What's your name again?" 

Cass sighed; it looked like he was still going to have problems with his memory; she supposed he would be tested later to see if he was mentally fit for work. "Cassandra." 

Stan nodded; that was it. "Cassandra, thank you for saving our child and me." 

Cass nodded, this was the fourth time he had thanked her, she laughed, typical Stan. "You're welcome, take care now, okay?" 

Stan nodded and watched as she and everyone else left the house, he turned, and Lily had pulled him into a deep, passionate kiss, he felt butterflies in his stomach and a pang in his chest as though this was the first time they had done this.

"Okay, let's go and save your brothers," Cass said as she hopped onto his broom again, Woodlock apparated to the castle.

David sighed and smiled as he watched the happy couple through the window, he was excited to see their child, they were going to be in for one hell of a ride as children did not come with a manual, it was a thing you learnt as you went along. There would be many challenges, ups and downs. He laughed as he thought back on Cassandra's childhood days, the lost little he rescued from a life of neglect and abuse who was now this strong, courageous young woman who went above and beyond to help other people. Although she had healed two people so far she had just saved three lives in minutes, if Stan and the baby had died so would have Lily. 

Mel paced back and forth in her tower, she could not understand it, as soon as she had woken up she was sick, she had hot flushes, her abdomen ached, her breasts felt tender and grown bigger. She ran a hand through her hair as she thought about the visit she had from her ‘best friend’ Ivy.

“Oh, Mel… It looks like you could be pregnant, who was the last guy you slept with?” Ivy asked.

Mel’s eyes widened as she shot an angry look at her. “Don’t be ridiculous I can’t be pregnant!”

Ivy raised an eyebrow as she glanced at her. “Well, you have been getting very close to the Dragon Warrior, you had thrown all the right curves at him, you could have had a one night stand, and that would be all it would take.”

“Shut up!” Mel snapped and threw a pillow at her. “This has never happened before!”

“Hmm, you seem to tick the boxes,” Ivy said. "You were only sick once this morning if it were a bug you would have thrown up more, you said your breasts feel different, and you have pains in your waist." 

Mel rolled her eyes. “You’re overreacting; it’s probably just the flu.”

“Could I?” Mel muttered as she looked down at her stomach, she did not remember being that intimate with Peter, they had never gone further than kissing as far as she knew, she had pondered about having children before but never got round to it, she could never maintain a healthy relationship, it always ended up becoming toxic for both of them. She wished there was a way that she could find out quicker rather than waiting to see if she shows more signs. Maybe she did sleep with Peter but did not remember it due to being heavily drunk. She sighed as she had seen a familiar blackbird on the window cill, she expected him to turn into his human form, but he just stayed there and bowed his head, it looked like it was bad news. She jumped when she heard the trap door open, she turned around and seen Pete looking frustrated.

"Hey, Mel," He said in a flat tone then flopped on the sofa, he rested his head on his hand and groaned. "Today was an absolute disaster. Shadow had not given me any clear direction... The flower was taken away from me by some woman and a couple of guys."

Mel sighed as she facepalmed. He had one job! She felt like snapping at him but instead had taken a deep breath and calmed down. "It's alright... It was not your fault. He rushed in too quickly. He should have taken the time to plan it properly; at least you had tried."

"Hmm, I'll have to get it back somehow," Peter said then looked back at her, eyed her stomach as he thought of what Ivy had told him about the possibility of her being pregnant. "You know what's even weirder? That you had gotten pregnant without us even having sex."

"H-How do you know?" Mel said, fear had begun to fill her as his tone became harsher and he glared at her angrily.

"Ivy told me... The only way you could have gotten a baby was if you had slept with another guy behind my back!" Pete shouted as he sprung back up. He turned and seen Raven as he flapped his wings and shook his head, he snarled as he moved closer to him. "It was him, wasn't it? That's why he was so fussy about us just hugging and kept going on about sleeping with each other!"

"No, Pete... It's not like that... I-I don't know how, Raven is taken anyway, he's Ivy's husband!" Mel cried. "I am not a cheater!"

"Oh, so the baby just appeared by magic, did it?" Pete growled as flames emerged on his shoulders, his hair glowed. "You tricked me to fall in love with you so I would give you that stupid flower! All the while, you were making out with another guy!" He punched a wall and given it a burnt patch.

Mel panted as she backed into a corner, she cowered in fear as she thought he was going to kill her with the magic fire as he turned back to her at that moment Raven flew in and turned back into his human form.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Raven yelled. "You have slept together twice, actually. You are definitely the father. You just don't remember it now because-"

"There better be a good reason for this, Raven," Pete said as he glared at him.

"I-I had used the obliviate charm on you both as you had a serious fight with Shadow, I could not see any other way to get you to stop," Raven said.

Peter groaned as he put a hand over his eyes and gritted his teeth in frustration. “That's why there's been a big fog in my head... Gaps between one thing and another... You had messed it up.”

"If you had just chilled out I wouldn't have done it. You had gone berserk! You had almost killed Shadow!" Raven exclaimed. "Anyway, I think you owe someone an apology."

Pete sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, then moved closer to Mel, who was still scared of him, he knelt and bowed his head. "M-Mel... I'm so sorry for snapping at you like that... It was unfair and wrong to jump to those conclusions... I really scared you, didn't I?"

"Y-Yeah... I guess it didn't look good to you, I would have told you, but I-I did not realise until now... At least you have seen where you went wrong and apologised," Mel said then put a hand over his. "We can start over."

Pete smiled; he did not expect her to forgive him that easily. "Thank you, hun... Don't worry. I'll get that flower for you and the little one."

Mel laughed as he pulled her into a hug and kissed her head, neither of them had seen it, but Raven stood in one corner with his arms crossed and frowned, he was glad he had come to the tower with him, things could have ended very badly for his friend otherwise.

Raven groaned, these two worn him out, he clapped his hands to grab their attention. "We have to leave... The Aurora are on our trail and Shadow is seriously injured."

"It's fine, I've been up here for a long time, and they have never found it, they probably think I'm still in Old Corona," Pete said.

Raven shook his head. "They can search from the air on broomsticks they won't leave any stone unturned, looks like you need more training before we try to take back the Phoenix Flower."

Mel's eyes widened, this was her home, and now she had to leave. "Where are we going to go?"

"Somewhere, far away from here... Now Peter is at least a bit magical he can apparate with us," Raven said as he drew his wand. "I have taken care of food and other supplies."

Mel sighed, this was a disaster, she held onto Pete's hand and drew her wand, in seconds the three of them had disappeared.

Cassandra, Varian and Charlie felt better knowing for sure that the Phoenix Flower had the ability to awaken the dead just like the Sun Drop, he had picked out a petal and made it into a potion. He had taken a deep breath as he pulled the blanket down and opened Harry's mouth then poured it into him, he sighed then looked at Cassandra for help with the incantation, he was surprised that both Cass and Varian had put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him as he was shaky from his emotions. It pained him to see his little brother dead and to find out he was killed with Avarda Kedavra made it worse. 

"Flower unleashes heaven’s light, share your power with me," Cass said.

"Flower unleash heaven’s light... Share your power with me," Charlie said.

"Turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed."

Charlie had taken a deep breath then repeated the line. "Turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed."

"Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me," Cass said.

"S-Stop the plans of f-fate... R-Rescue w-what is l-lost... S-Share... Y-Your P-Power... With me... With me." Charlie stammered as tears spilt down from his eyes; he was still scared it would happen again or that he would lose someone else important to him.

Like before there was a moment of silence, a light show then they had seen Harry's chest start to move again, he murmured and groaned, fluttered his lashes as he slowly came round.

"Harry! You're okay!" Charlie cried tears streamed down his face, and he pulled him into a big hug.

"W-Woah... C-Charlie!" Harry cried taken aback by it as he was not ordinarily an affectionate person.

"I-I almost lost you and S-Sam... A-A Serpent had h-hit you with the killing curse!" Charlie cried.

"They did?" Harry gasped, although he figured he should not be surprised. He jumped when he felt another hand on his shoulder, so did Charlie.

"I am proud of you, Charlie and Harry," Woodlock said and joined in with the hug. 

Varian smiled as it reminded him of the time his dad had first told him he was proud of him when he had gotten out of the amber, a bit tearful, it was lovely to see them get love from their dad even though they were not blood-related he treated them the same as the one who was. He glanced at Cass. She was a bit tearful as well, that was two families they had saved that day. 


	54. The Moment It Hit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra and Varian tell Eugene about the Fight For The Phoenix Flower, Catalina is still missing, it is looking more like the worst-case scenario. 
> 
> Pete has a melt down as it hits him just what he has done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have rewritten parts of the previous chapter as a couple was not written very well, Cass gets healed first with the Phoenix Flower, you can check that out if you wish.

“How are you, Sammy?” Charlie asked as he sat on the edge of the bed, he was not sure if he would still be able to work in the Aurora as he laid on the bed with a bandage wrapped around his head covering his left eye, he wished he could heal him, but one thing the mighty Phoenix Flower could not do was replace lost body parts as Harry had already tried passing the power onto him.

“Saint like,” Sam whispered.

Charlie raised an eyebrow. He did not get it. “What?”

“Holy,” Sam said as he pointed to his empty eye socket. “Hole… Lee.”

Charlie smirked and chuckled as he shook his head then nudged him. “You daft bugger, you just lost an eye, and you come out with that.”

Sam laughed as he looked back at him, it was strange seeing the world from one eye, but he supposed he would get used to it.

Charlie’s laughter died down as he thought his brother losing his job, he felt dreadful as it was something he was brilliant at, sure he had felt overshadowed by his adoptive dad’s biological son at times but soon got over it and continued to support him. He only wished Mel had, maybe it was a normal thing for a group of siblings as big as theirs to have some rivalry, but it seemed like it had gone too far. They had gone half a decade without speaking to each other once they were old enough to fly the nest, it was ironic that Mel like she was left out by him, yet he had thought the same thing about her. Last time the Serpents attacked in Amestria and their dad was injured he had chosen her to take his place instead of him or Sam despite not even officially being in the Aurora. He sighed and shook his head to snap himself out of it, now was not the time to dwell on that. “I suppose you’re going to be off the squad now he’s made you half blind.”

Sam shook his head as he pointed to the opposite one. “I’ve still got the other eye.”

“H-How can you fight them when you can barely see?” Charlie said as he looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Hey, disability does not mean inability, I know a guy who is completely blind and is brilliant with magic, I’ll just have to rely on my hearing more with that side,” Sam replied and tapped his left ear. 

Charlie was surprised. He had never thought about it that way. He had not seen any physically disabled warriors; he would like to think Mustang would keep him on but was still doubtful.

“Remember, when we learned how to apparate?” Sam said as he chuckled under his breath.

Charlie nodded then straightened his back then jolted as though he had a shock as he did an impression of their dad. “For goodness sake, just because you can apparate now does not mean you can whip out your wands all the time!”

Sam laughed and clasped his large hand on his skinny shoulder. “Yeah, we used to wind him up a lot, think he just sent us out to get some peace.”

Charlie nodded, that was like what Cass had said earlier about Stan and Pete, although he did not know either of these guys their story sounded awful and sadly he could not see a way that it could end happily. He doubted they would ever get Mel back, alive anyway. She had been with The Shadow Man and The Serpents for a long time, a decade. “Peter was ranting about his dad and a woman at home who was sick, neither are excuses for his behaviour, he’s just like how Melanie was... I’ve got a hunch that this mysterious woman is her.”

Sam sighed, he was trying to lighten things up, but he knew this was a serious situation there were in. “I guess so… I’ve been worried that some of the Serpent wizards had been… Abusing her, you know? Pumping her up with all sorts of rubbish, manipulating her to do their bidding, showing her more toxic behaviour, having it off with her since she is a pretty young woman. He literally gets his followers with fear and confusion, either Shadow or one of them wipes out memories, so the victims don’t even know who they are anymore, pump them up with dangerous potions that literally mess with their heads to make them become extremely aggressive.”

“He was unbelievable, I don't think it was just the potion, he could have been like this even without it. He had another Serpent with him to hold me hostage, torture Varian with the crucio curse and burn Cassandra’s arm… He did not show any remorse at all. He was dead in the eyes and bloody. He had gotten into a vicious fight with Cass!” Charlie exclaimed. “He does not even understand what he is doing. I think Shadow had put him on an extra-strong Hate Potion… Shadow had rushed this very quickly, maybe if he had taken more time, he would have come back, but Mel hadn’t.” 

Sam’s eyes widened when he heard what had happened to them. “Maybe the reason Mel had not returned home in all those years is she is too scared even to try and escape. She thinks the only way she can get away from him is to get stronger than him, of course, she can’t get it herself as he would kill her before she got the chance so if she is this Peter’s girlfriend she would use him to get it although that has clearly failed.”

Charlie had gone quiet, he stood up and glanced through the window, he had never thought about it like that, she had gotten caught in a trap, he had twisted her mind, so she had fallen further into the darkness than she first did. She no longer remembered them or anyone else, all she knew would have come from Shadow and the other Serpents, most of which would have been untrue or taken out of context. One thing that would have been true was the time that she had been burnt in a witch trial, a hate crime against magical women.

* * *

“How was it?” Harry said as he accompanied Cassandra and Varian to Eugene’s office to inform him on Pete’s condition, which had unfortunately taken a terrible turn. Charlie would talk to him later, he wanted to have some time with their brother to comfort him as he was in a lot of pain earlier. 

Cass groaned as she tilted her head back. “Intense, we had found it just as it was growing, I was just going to take a petal then Charlie had uprooted it, we argued about it as I thought removing it would make the fire worse, but it did not appear to then… Pete showed up, he was off his head on something, so there was no reasoning with him. He viciously fought against us.” 

Harry nodded. “I see… Shadow had really done a number on him, did he look like he was hypnotised or mind-controlled again?”

“I don’t think so, he was able to speak, his eyes did not glow either,” Cass replied.

“Okay… Just curious if the Shadow Man had put him under the imperious curse but seems like he had given him an extra-strong Hate Potion instead,” Harry said. "Although people can still speak when under the curse it's just when they are mind controlled they become mute." 

There was a moment of silence until Eugene arrived at the office, he dragged his feet as he looked absolutely worn out and frustrated by today’s events. “Mustang and some of the men had gone out to get Pete, but he had done a disappearing act again so it’s back to the drawing board.”

Varian sighed as he shook his head. “He was awful. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but he is worse than Cassandra and me combined! He had burnt Old Corona to the ground, everything in the village is destroyed, I have no idea where the people are going to live now, and we’re going to have to buy more crops from another kingdom because they have been cremated! Not only is this Fire Stone harming him physically, with rashes and bloodshot eyes, but it’s also messed up his head! He did not once show any remorse for anything at all, at least Cass did a couple of times! He doesn’t understand that it is wrong to do things that harm innocent people for what one person may have done! I mean I drew the line at hurting the people who had nothing to do with what happened to me, I had told Andrew no when he told me about what he wanted to do with the Quirinium! When they had stolen it, I had fought against them with Rapunzel, that’s what he should have done, not stay with them and do their bidding!”

Eugene looked horrified when he heard about the way the village had been ruined, and now they were going to have a food shortage this fall, Nigel would have to get to work and help Rapunzel make some deals for more fruit, vegetables and meat. “He-he has completely lost the plot now… If only that wizard had not gotten in the way! He has poisoned his mind, turned him into a completely different person! I thought George was bad but this guy... Bloody hell!”

“He wants revenge for his dad’s death but is taking it out on the wrong people. He should have told Stefan no when it came to burning down the woods and Old Corona village… He’s like in his mid-thirties, ten times Cassandra’s age, a full-grown man!” Varian said in a raised voice. “He should know better, understand that there’s nothing that can be done about it now because it was a very long time ago, just taken some time out alone to clear his head or whatever, talk to you, Stan or Mrs Bader for emotional support. He could have just quit the guard and got another job. No one would have blamed him for not wanting to work for the King if he did not like being with him anymore, there probably would not be this problem with the Serpents now if he had just done that.” 

"I just can't understand what has led him to this dark path, if there was something I had missed beforehand," Eugene said as he interlocked his fingers and rested his elbows on the desk. "Maybe he was trying to tell me something but I was so caught up with the Zhan Tiri and Cass thing I did not notice." 

“I was at the orphanage with him… He just sat by the window all day, waiting for his dad to come back for him as he had promised he would, he rarely ever talked but he had a terrible temper used to break things, punch the wall, once knocked a whole door down… He got worse as he got older; some of the workers were rough with him which did not help at all,” Matt said, he was quite tall, round face, rather muscular and around Pete's age or maybe a bit older. "He also did this strange thing of hitting himself saying bad Pete over and over again."

Cassandra and Varian were quite surprised that he had that problem in his childhood days. However, it was hard to sympathise with him after what he had done to them with fighting over the Phoenix Flower, Varian had seen his bad side, but this was all new to Cass, before her dungeon experience, she had never seen Pete in a temper. When she grabbed him from the collar for frustrating her, he looked genuinely scared, why didn’t he fight back despite her being the Captain's daughter?

“How did he stop his anger? What made him change into the complete opposite and hold it for so long? He had just burnt my arm, I have never known him to be that violent,” Cassandra said as she looked at him.

“Xavier had visited him, given him anger management lessons but clearly he has forgotten those along with everything else,” Matt replied, he sighed as he shook his head. “He has never been as mature as the rest of us… Which is why he did not make any friends apart from Stan, he probably did not mean to but kind of rubbed people up the wrong way being overly nice and goofy, some thought it was weird how clingy he was with Stan like a child.”

Eugene sighed, he guessed that was why Xavier wanted to try and treat him personally, thought he would trust him but he lashed out at him to. “Yeah, I know about that… The thing is while he was here he was hot and cold, happy when Stan was with him but sometimes pushed him away, couldn’t do right from wrong, he was upset no one was helping him but when someone did he wanted to be alone.”

“Was that before he had been spiked?” Cass said as she rested her head on her hand, she was already getting tired out from all the running and fighting.

“His senses have gone out the window,” Varian muttered as he ran a hand through his hair, he just wanted to get this over with so he could get back to his dad, he was sure Hector would hop on his rhino and hunt Pete and the Serpents down himself when he found out.

“Well, yeah, sometimes he could be a sour puss and go brooding in a corner when he was in a mood for whatever reason but not as bad as it has been now,” Eugene said. “What happened when you had seen him? Did he attack you?”

“Yep, he really went for it. He had one of his new mates with him who tortured Varian with the... What is it?” Cass paused and turned to Harry.

“The cruciatus curse, it means I torture… They were holding Varian hostage for the flower?” Harry said as he looked at them with a concerned expression.

“It was to make me drop my water gun and to say give back the flower, or I will kill this guy, Charlie went after them then got held hostage himself, but I think he fought them off as that person did not come out after him,” Varian said. “Oh, a black rock appeared to which had broken my water gun, just like those from the Moon Stone.”

Eugene looked furious that they had done such a dreadful thing to him but then raised an eyebrow as he wondered how the heck did they bring up one of those rocks? The Moon Stone was long gone, that was bad enough the Fire Stone looked much worse, they could work around the rocks there was no way of doing that with fire.

“We tried in vain to reason with him, he said it’s not enough, and it never will be until we have endured the same amount of pain and agony he has, I don’t see how he knows how much of that people have gone through already… Most of which had nothing to do with his situation,” Cass said. “I thought I was awful but jeez…. He’s just-“

“You had tried to fight him, and he burnt your arm,” Varian said. “Which had only just healed a few weeks ago and now is fixed, it’s like he doesn’t give a toss who gets hurt anymore, he had at least some humility before, but now all of that is gone! He is becoming just as bad as Shadow like he’s copying him.”

Eugene’s eyes widened, his face almost as red as his jacket with fury from what he had heard.

“If someone had told me a year ago that Pete and I would get into a serious fight and he would almost beat me I would have laughed at them, sounds so ridiculous considering what he used to be like… He’s a lot rougher then he used to be, he almost h, I had tried punching him hard in the face as I had done with Andrew, but he somehow avoided it,” Cass said.

“We had tried the sleep powder, but he did not inhale it, strangely the Fire Stone protects him from that and-and he threatened to hurt us again if we did not leave… I’m pretty sure that the Old Pete is dead now,” Varian said. “He has gone on the dark side for real… All Shadow needed was a few days to draw him in.”

“Charlie had crept up behind him and cast some kind of spell that knocked him out, he thought it would last long enough for the Aurora to take him but either he had woken up and returned to… Their lair I guess or one of the Serpents had saved him again,” Cass said.

Eugene breathed a heavy sigh as he put a hand over his forehead, he was exasperated. “This is like a nightmare that never stops, they have searched all over and have been unable to find any sign of him or the others, looks like they have left the country again somehow they slip past the borders.”

“They could have apparated, or The Shadow Man cast charms over his caravan to look invisible or a disguise so no one would recognise him, he’s good at that to,” Harry said.

Eugene groaned, this just seemed to get worse, he was devastated to see and hear how low he had gone, he had thought he would have had chances to bring him back over the next few months, it was just chaos, it would have been like if they had jumped to the final battle straight after Cass had taken the moonstone. Why did Shadow push Pete to do it so quickly? Was Pete even still alive now since he had failed his so-called mission?

Varian could not stop thinking about the villagers, they were the innocent victims in all of this, how could he destroy their home like that over a personal grudge he had with the King? Then he remembered the conversation he had overheard in the orphanage. “Oh.”

“What is it?” Cass said as he looked distracted.

“I think the reason, at least one of them, why he had turned against Old Corona was George winded him up, telling him that everyone hated him, called him a village idiot and stuff… Although he would no longer know that since he had somehow lost his memory, maybe Shadow had put that idea back into his head, so he ended up hating us back,” Varian said. “Now they are going to hate each other.”

Eugene sighed again as he rubbed his temple, he had a demon of a headache coming on, he was not sure how much of this he could take, he had tried so hard to save him, to meet him halfway, he offered him kindness and understanding, he even put his hands up to reassure him he was not a threat, he rejected it all and threw it back at him, what more could he have done? He thought maybe he should have just grabbed him and dragged him into the dungeons when he had last seen him or let Ron or Greg do that.

“I mean I got grief from some of them after what happened with my dad and the Royals but… I would never go so far as to destroy my neighbours lives like that... If I had not gotten a heads up from Woodlock I would not have been able to get them to evacuate the village early, but even then we still got attacked, Old Corona always takes the beating first, we hadn’t even gotten over the rock thing!” Varian said.

“I know, I’m worried that he is going to do the other half of Corona next, it’s likely he is going to try and get the Phoenix flower back even though there isn’t much left of it now is there?” Eugene asked.

“A couple of petals… He is not going to get it, he might as well just come and hand himself in, but I doubt it, he doesn’t see that he is looking worse than he has ever been out of all the stupid things he had done this tops the lot!” Varian exclaimed.

“It sure does,” Eugene muttered. “I don’t see how he can get through this, maybe if he had come back before it would have been possible for him to be redeemed but… He seems to be beyond help now.” He breathed a heavy sigh as he bowed his head, he had real hope for him, but it looked like the Shadow Man had turned him into a monster, a hazardous one at that, he could see the King reinstating the ‘shoot to kill’ order and unlike before he could not argue against it. He sighed as he looked down at his note to give to the Royal printer to create Missing posters for Catalina, it certainly looked like what they had feared. “Also to top this all off, Catalina has gone missing, the last time Lance had seen her was before the first Serpent attack, we searched around the outskirts of New Corona then Old once it was safe to do so and had not found any sign of her… Mustang suspects she was taken by a Serpent to exploit her for her werewolf powers, they won’t think of her any differently because she is a child." 

“WHAT?” Varian cried, he had not seen her since the previous morning, it sickened him that they would bring someone even younger than him into their mess, he put a hand over his face and groaned, if they did have her they would do the same thing they had done with Pete, pump her up with drugs, probably alcohol, subject her to emotional and phycological abuse, subject for sick experiments.

Eugene nodded. “Lance is beside himself with worry naturally, the Aurora is doing a search from the air and the guys are having another look around… I just hope for her sake she is not with them and has just been hiding as she had run off during the attack.”

"Wait? Lance has a child?" Cass said as her eyes widened slightly, she knew they were evil but to use a child as a human weapon was a whole other level, what if they were going to hold her hostage for the stupid flower which was now in pieces? 

* * *

The air had grown cold as the night had drawn in, the remaining Serpents, which was not very many, had set up camp in their new hideout which appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. Mel sighed as she watched Pete from a distance, she was still wary of him since he had never turned on her like that before, she was the only person who had somehow gotten past the Hate Potion. He paced back and forth, muttering things which she could not exactly make out, she had tried to give him a numbing potion, but he refused to take it. The rash had spread further on his face and neck. It also got lumpy; she could not understand why that was happening or why he had suddenly turned on her then back to being nice again.

“I think Shadow had given him an extra-strong potion this time. This is the worst I’ve seen him… His humility has gone out the window, he is a lot more reckless and aggressive,” Raven said as he stood beside her with his arms crossed. “I had tried to warn him about that, pushing him too hard would make him turn on us, he did not give you the sleep potion, did he? That was supposed to be for your safety as the trouble is with mind and mood-related potions the effects are unpredictable, sure most of the time he was fine with you but he could just snap and turn at any time. If I wasn't there, he could have seriously hurt you without thinking twice about it maybe even killed you.”

Mel sighed as she shook her head. “He didn’t… It’s hard to get him to take it sometimes as he plays up, saying he’s fine and does not need medicine, Shadow’s trouble is he overwhelms him. Hence, he gets scared of it sometimes, he was in a terrible state after he had shown him illusions of his dad’s death, punched a wall, argued with me and almost set my tower on fire. Now he has completely cracked, I just hope he will tire out soon and be better once it has worn off, tell Shadow to lay off it for a while… He’s overdoing it. He has already turned on me. It could very well be him next.”

Raven nodded, that was one thing he feared would happen again, Shadow was very lucky he was able to get there in time otherwise he would have been done for, he needed to be very careful with handling him, not only with potions but how he treats him otherwise there could be another fight for dominance. He wondered if he was this hard to work with when he was in the guard. “Yeah… I’ll try, who is he talking to anyway?”

Mel shook her head and sighed. “No one, I guess since there aren’t any walls for him to punch, he has to vent his frustrations out in another way.”

“Sad, strange man,” Raven muttered as he watched him, he had been at it for a while, the energy potion should have worn off by now.

“What the heck?” He narrowed his eyes as he had seen him hit himself in the head.

“Bad, Pete! Bad! Bad Pete!”

Mel sighed again then went over to him, now he hated himself, she grabbed hold of his arm. “Hey, what’s going on?” He did not appear to hear her as he repeated the same line over and over again. “Hey, hey, come on… Don’t do this, calm down.” It was not working. “Raven, make it stop! Now!”

Raven rushed over and pulled out a flacon with a clear liquid, once he had seen it, he tried to escape, but he grabbed onto his other arm tightly. “Pete… I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you, but I’m helping you out here, this is going to make you better, something has gone wrong with the potion you had earlier.”

Mel was shocked by the sudden change in him. He no longer looked so furious and vicious, now he looked shocked and scared as it had just hit him what he had done earlier that day.

“I-I can’t be b-better… I-I can’t do this anymore! I have done awful things… I’ve ruined everything!” He cried actual tears were streaming down his face. “I don’t belong here. I don’t belong there or anywhere… I might as well just kill myself now! At least that way I will be with my dad!”

“Come on. You’re being silly now!” Raven said, he was baffled by the sudden change in his mood again, he pulled him back to stop him from throwing himself into the river. “They had hurt you first.”

“I-I don’t know that! I don't know anything! I hurt- I hurt them more!” Pete yelled as he tried to break out from his grasp. “I don’t want to do this anymore!”

Mel sighed as she got down and put her arms around him, she did not understand what was causing this either, it appeared the Hate Potion had worn off, he now felt remorse for his actions. “Shh, shh, hey, don’t talk like that… You do belong with us, don’t let what those people said get to you.”

“T-They’re… R-Right… I am an evil monster!… I ruin everything!… That’s why everyone hates me and wants me… Dead!” Pete cried.

“No, no… Stop it, your head is messed up because you’ve gone through such a lot in such a small amount of time,” Mel said as she had taken over and hugged him and gently rubbed his back. “Shh, shh… It’s alright.”

“I-It’s not… I-I shouldn’t h-have done it… Bad Pete! Bad!” Peter yelled as he hit his head harder as if that would knock more sense into him. 

“Why do you keep doing that?” Mel said as she grabbed onto his other arm, she had taken a closer look at his face, he had scratched himself to which had broken some of the spots and made the rash worse. "Stop it, you're hurting yourself." 

“Didn’t you see? I burnt down half of the land. I tortured people…. Injured, probably killed… I don’t… Deserve to live anymore!” Pete cried, he backed away from her and tried to pull the stone out, but it would not budge, he cried louder. “Help me get it out! I don’t want it!” 

“Come on now, no need to be so dramatic.”

They turned around and seen Shadow. His bruised torso wrapped up in bandages. He roughly pinned Pete down so he was on top of him to force him to take yet another potion.

“Get off me!” Pete cried as he looked at him in horror, he did not want anything more to do with him but unlike before he could not see a way out because he was more guilty than hateful the flames did not appear as he tried to get away. “GET OFF!”

“Quiet! You’ll give away our position if you don’t start screaming your head off like that!” Shadow growled as he hit him hard in the face, not caring at all how distressed he was. He squeezed his nose so he would be forced to open his mouth and poured the sleeping potion into him.

“What’s going on?”

Raven and Mel turned around to see a little girl with long red hair, face paint under both of her green eyes, green top, black jacket trimmed with fur, black trousers, boots and a necklace with a leaf pendant.

“Raven, get her away before Shadow sees her!” Mel hissed and nudged him.

“Oh, he already has,” Ivy said as she came up to her. “This is Ruby.”

Mel blinked and raised an eyebrow, where did she come from? Why were they bringing a child into this? She shook her head, their 'work' was not suitable for a child’s eyes, it was hard enough for an adult but that was the least of her worries right now, she glanced over her shoulder and seen Pete struggle against Shadow. What on Earth had he put him on that morning? She hoped what he was giving him now was going to be better.

“What’s wrong with, Peter?” Ivy asked.

Mel sighed and shrugged. “I don’t know... He’s been acting really weird today jumping from one mood to another.”

Shadow groaned as he brought himself back up, he watched as Peter had drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep again then turned to Raven. “There, that will keep him quiet for a while, Raven, take him to his tent… He should be better tomorrow.”

Raven nodded. “Yes, Master.” He knelt beside him and lifted Pete’s body then carried him away.

“Keep an eye on him, Mel, it is your job to care for him, remember?” Shadow said as he passed by her, then paused. “A little bird had also told me you are expecting. Now you have your child’s future to fight for… You don’t want him or her to get hurt just like you did do you?”

Mel shook her head and sighed. “No, Sir.”

“I have been very trusting of you Melody, don’t let me down again,” Shadow said then walked off.

Mel nodded then turned her attention to Raven. She was still shocked by how Pete had turned again. He felt so ashamed he thought he no longer had the right to live. Before he was saying, he was going to fight again? Why was he changing his mind so quickly? She sighed, it was too late for him to turn back now anyway. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 'Bad Pete' thing is a strange habit I had when I was younger even though I had not done anything that bad. Unsurprisingly Pete is all over the place, his head is knackered from being hit with the memory charm twice, drugged and quite literally brainwashed.  
> Thank you to Zonrobotnik for pointing out the mistake I made when I first uploaded the chapter, I really should not post when I am tired, like Stan I am not very good with words thank you for bearing with me.


	55. Heartache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An experiment with the Phoenix power to try and recover Catalina's lost memories. 
> 
> TW Suicide as Pete attempts to take his life again.

“What the hell Ivy? She’s far too young to be a Serpent!” Raven hissed, he had taken her to the bridge connecting the two sides of the kingdom to find her own way back, how did she get here? “I only knocked her out so she wouldn’t wolf out and bite me!”

“Good to start them when they are young like we did with Sheska, she doesn’t belong with those muggles,” Ivy said.

Raven groaned as he put a hand over his face. “She’s only magical because of the werewolf thing… Just like Peter is with the stone! I only removed the memory of her meeting us, is her name really Ruby or not?” 

“No, I had given her a new identity… She should stick with her own kind, the muggles are nice to her now, but if she puts a paw wrong they will hunt her down and kill her! Just like they had done with Sheska,” Ivy said. “She was shot in the neck by that Creighton!”

Raven sighed, she was talking about their daughter, she was only a young girl, but according to her, she was a monster, her head was nailed on the wall as a trophy until, well, he killed her, she was the first person he killed with Avarda Kedavra. “Maybe she had a family… I left her by the bridge to either find her way back, or someone else finds her since I don’t know where she’s from… How did she get here? You went straight with Pete after I left… How did Shadow find out about her?”

“Issac had brought her to me… She was lucky. She could have been burnt to death in that fire… Did it really have to be that big?” Ivy said.

“No… It was not meant to be that big, but Shadow had put him on a stronger Hate potion mixed with an energy one, so he went overboard,” Raven replied. "He was really vicious when he was fighting for the Phoenix flower, even burnt one of them."

"I know... I was there. I tortured the guys that came with her," Ivy replied.

Mel groaned as she could not believe what she was hearing, she glanced at the little girl as she sat crossed-legged on the ground staring into space like Pete did when he was first hit with the memory charm. It looked like she had forgotten about a lot more than that, sort of reminded her of herself when she came into the Serpents, she sighed and turned away, what could she do? She had no idea where the girl came from. Pete would not know who she was either even if he was awake; this was a huge mess. “Hey, are you okay?”

Catalina blinked slowly. Her mind appeared to be completely blank either the memory charm had gone drastically wrong, or she had been hit with it more than once like Peter, his memories faded over a short time, but he still knew his name, she had it worse.

“Ivy… You know the work we do is not suitable for children's eyes… Especially the stuff _we_ do, she's way too young and weak to fight, we have to take her back,” Mel said. "I am already mad at you for telling Peter I was pregnant before I was ready to! He thought I was cheating on him!"

“B-back where? Why are you kicking me out?” Catalina’s eyes widened as she was terribly confused; she thought they were her family.

Mel sighed. “Well, that’s just fantastic… She has been obliviated, maybe one of the Aurora medics would be able to figure something out… She was found in Old Corona, right?”

“Yeah,” Raven said.

“Okay… Good thing you brought my shape-shifting cape... Can’t let them see me again,” Mel said as she draped a dark blue cape over herself which turned into a random woman with long brown hair, blue eyes, in a pale yellow dress and white veil. “Raven, you come with me you twit. I'll kick your dumb ass later for telling Shadow about my pregnancy when I don't even know myself!” She turned to Catalina. “Hey, sweetie… It would be best if you came with me. We will take you back home.” She held out her hand to her. She looked at her anxiously then taken it. Mel drew her wand and disappeared along with her, Raven also quickly followed behind her.

Within a second they were back on the bridge between the New and Old Corona which was now mostly in ruins.

"N-No... I want to stay with mom!" Catalina cried as she backed away from her.

Mel knelt in front of her and grimaced as she felt aches in her waist, she had a sinking feeling that 'Poison Ivy' was right. "Babe, she's not your mother... You have lost your memory and became completely confused. Those guys will be able to figure out who you are and get you back to your real family."

Catalina had broken down into tears. The poor girl was so lost and devastated.

"Come on now... This is really for the best. It's not safe for you to be with us... There's a lot of violence and other scary stuff; one of us is very unstable right now and might hurt himself or us... It would scar you for life," Mel said. "While you may be a magical person in a muggle world you are too young to get tied up into this mess, it's hard enough handling it as an adult, just be careful okay? People tend to fear what they don't understand and might try to hurt you... Just for being different." She carefully held onto Catalina's wrist and walked her down the bridge where she had seen a few guards having another look around the other side.

Will paused, his eyes widened slightly as he stared at the young Lady-In-Waiting and Catalina. "F-Faith, w-what are you doing here? How did you find Catalina?"

Mel blinked, this was a real person she was disguised as? She shrugged and put on a fake smile. "Oh, I thought I would give you guys a hand." She released Catalina's hand and nudged her forwards. "Go on... Honey face."

Joe narrowed his eyes as he knew her quite well and she never said things like 'honey face' and last he had seen her she was up in the Princess' room sewing dresses, how did she wind up here so quickly? "Uh, Faith... You know you should not be roaming around these parts with Peter on the loose, he caused that fire, if the Old Coronan villagers had not evacuated last night he would have killed a lot of people... Sadly he is too far gone now, there is no saving him."

Mel sighed. "I know... Thank goodness we found... This kid, she could have been badly hurt!"

"Yeah or kidnapped and exploited by the Serpents for her werewolf powers... Come on, Catalina. Your poor dad's been worried sick about you," Joe said as he had held his hand out to her. "Let's get you back to the castle where you will be safe from those nasty people, well say people. They are more like demons."

"M-My name is Ruby," Catalina said.

Joe frowned and furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes. "No, no... It's Catalina." He glared at 'Faith.' "What happened to her?"

Mel shrugged. "Maybe she hit her head on something hard or seen something she shouldn't have, and they wiped out her memory."

Joe grabbed Catalina's hand and dragged her away.

"No! Get off me! Get off!" Catalina cried as she struggled to escape his grasp.

"James, take her back to the castle... Do that disappearing thing, maybe one of your doctors can figure something out," Joe said as he passed her onto the closest Aurora guard.

"The obliviate charm is irreversible, but I will return her anyway, Harry can check her out for any other problems," James replied as he held her hand and lifted his wand they disappeared in seconds.

Joe breathed out a heavy sigh and turned around. He remembered the time Cassandra came disguised as the new handmaiden. "You're not the real Faith. There's no way she could have gotten here without us noticing or so quickly on foot!"

"She just appeared out of nowhere... Literally," Greg said.

Joe moved closer towards her and went to pull off her cape, but she backed away.

"Stupefy!" Mel yelled, and Joe was swept off his feet, thrown back until he banged into a tree, the other men watched in shock some of them attempted to charge at her but before they had the chance to get anywhere near she disappeared again.

* * *

“Oh my gosh Cassandra, Varian!” Rapunzel cried as she ran into Eugene’s office and given both of them a big hug. “I was worried sick about you!” She moved back and gasped. “Y-You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Well… Peter had burnt my arm and tortured Varian,” Cass replied.

“W-What?” Rapunzel gasped. “He really did that? E-Eugene told me about the fire in Old Corona. I can't believe he would do something like this.”

“Yep… I never thought I would be saying this, but Peter is the biggest threat Corona has ever faced,” Cass said. “The Shadow Man has poisoned his mind, so he is extremely violent and cruel just like him, he did not show any remorse at all for what he did, he thinks he’s doing the right thing getting revenge for his dad’s death which was twenty-nine years ago, it might seem more recent to him since he won’t even know how old he is now, he said our dads are the villains, although your dad is a pain mine was not even Captain back then, he had no part in any of it!”

“Even if he was, he is completely unreasonable… There is nothing he can achieve from behaving this way. It doesn’t matter now if he killed that guard or not; he just committed many other crimes! He assaulted us… True, Shadow had heavily drugged him, but it’s no excuse, he should have gotten away when he had the chance with Eugene, but he chose to stay with him,” Varian said. “He was more than an idiot… I don’t even know how to describe it, but I’m sorry Princess, he is beyond help, Joe was right he is too far gone sadly he had gotten to that point quicker than we expected… I tried to get him to let go of this grudge he had against Cassandra and me twice but he won't, he had chosen to stay on the dark side.”

Rapunzel sighed. She hoped it would not come to this, that maybe he would come back, apologise to Eugene for giving him a bad attitude, maybe go back into the guard or find another job that he would enjoy more, maybe make strawberry scones with Attila or something but now that was not going to be possible. She had a feeling this would end with his execution or being killed by The Shadow Man once he had served his purpose, she thought Zhan Tiri was bad, but this guy was something else.

“You fought Peter after I told you not to take any unnecessary risks!” Meg exclaimed then pinched the bridge of her nose. “You are fortunate you had gotten out of there alive and in one piece!”

“I didn’t have a choice, Meg, he came out at us, we could not get away… He burnt my arm, I even tried Varian’s sleeping dust, but that did not work as his armour stopped him from inhaling it… Charlie put a spell on him, but that did not last long enough for the Aurora to get him,” Cass said.

“We won’t be pulling any punches with him anymore… Every time I had shown him just a little bit of humility or compassion he had thrown it back in my face, I should have been more firm last time I had seen him, arrested him for suspicion of murder rather than try to talk him down. He is looking very suspicious right now since Bob was killed with the death curse he had just stood back and watched them do it or told them to do it,” Eugene said. “Poor Josh is traumatised now, he’s a teenager, and he had just seen his mate die in front of him!”

“You sent men out to find them? I told you not to do that!” Meg snapped. “Damn it, Eugene! Did you not listen to a word I said that day?”

“I didn’t expect the fire to get that bad!” Eugene exclaimed. 

Meg groaned as she facepalmed. "Stefan would have wanted Pete to test its limits, driven him to it by giving him some kind of potion or curse." 

"I've heard he's had a lot of the Hate Potion which can do serious damage to the most level headed person's mind... Even when it has worn off the effects continue, turning a very kind-hearted person into something toxic," Harry said. 

“He had threatened to burn us to death. He said I could cremate you, but I don’t need to now,” Varian said. "He probably would try to use potions and stuff as an excuse, surely he had chances to leave, but no he stayed because he had fallen for some witch, he cares more about her than anyone else!"

“Seriously?” Eugene said as he raised his eyebrows, he was surprised to hear that Peter had gotten into a relationship with one of them. 

"He said he had a woman at home who was sick, whether the sick part is true I don't know... There were surely better ways to handle it. Maybe this witch had put him on a love potion so he would do anything for her, no matter how drastic or he is what Varian says," Cass said as she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. 

"If it is and she dies... He will be back with a vengeance," Meg said. 

"He was not even willing to share it. He thinks it belongs to him because he created it... Not realising that he was the thief because the Fire Stone was not his to take just because Shadow said so, he could have backed out before then, but nope, it's a pretty dumb destiny to destroy your home country," Cass said. "I thought my fake destiny was bad... He probably would have killed us if Charlie had not knocked him out with some kind of spell, although there was the oversight of how long it would last… We really should have taken him back with us.”

“Then what if he woke up on the way here? He could have hurt us, how would we have gotten him over there anyway?” Varian said. “I just wanted to get out of there.”

Eugene sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “Josh told me he said he could roast them like Goodwill turkeys but was feeling nice... I guess you had just seen what he's like when he's feeling mean, but I'm sure he won't keep it up for as long as you have Cass and I won't be able to be as lenient as I with you either... He has crossed too many lines for that." 

"You're going to kill him, aren't you?" Cass said as she looked at him with a saddened expression, this was not how she wanted this to end, but there was no other way, it would be impossible to convince him or anyone that he was redeemable.

"I'm afraid so, he's become far too dangerous and unstable... On the plus side he might just find some peace in death, in a way I feel bad for him, he was doing so well up until George had started to mess with him, maybe if Stan had not been taken away, we could have saved him. If anyone could knock any sense into him, it would be Stan. Still, he was unable even to remember him, speaking of which he will need a lot of emotional support when he returns, Pete was the only friend he had on the guard for the past ten years so he will be lonely and miss him a lot." 

Rapunzel sighed as she glanced at Cassandra, she knew that feeling all too well but unlike her, he had already passed the point of no return, he had no chance of getting his best friend back, he missed his chance to save him. 

"Didn't he already try just before he was taken to be cured? Dad thought he could talk me out of it, but it did not work, I had hoped he would have seen the light before now and learnt for himself, but clearly, he has not done that, he is just going to get worse," Cassandra said. "Varian was given the same opportunity to destroy Corona and mass slaughter people literally, but he turned it down flat, Peter hasn't." 

"I know... That's the difference between the two, he seems to be like what Varian could have become if did, his villain story looks like a mix of yours and his," Eugene said. 

"He said the same thing I did when I was attacking you with the automaton... Which was weird, but it's just pointless. It's not like we can go back in time and save his dad or bring him back from the dead since he's long gone," Varian said. "Woodlock suggested we go into hiding in case those snakes attack us to get the flower back which would put a huge damper on my future, although I can just go to the dark Kingdom with my dad and The Brotherhood to the Dark Kingdom once the villagers have been sorted out, even if Pete knew about that before he would not even remember now, he does not know anything other than what the Stefan had told him." 

Cass sighed, she had no idea what to do about that, she did not want to run away as that would show she was scared of them but after what she had seen and experienced she was terrified, what if they had somehow tracked her down and tried to kill her at home. Her dad would take the hit for her, and she would lose him if she did go into hiding how she would serve her community service order? The whole point was to stay away, how could she go out to do the repairs? Who could she use as her secret-keeper? 

A knock on the door had broken the silence. 

"Come in!" Eugene said then returned to his seat. "I'll catch up with you two later, stay safe... I'll talk to Mustang about having Aurora guards with you just in case." 

Eugene sighed as he had seen Will at the door, he thought he was going to say they had been unsuccessful with their search. 

"Captain... I have some good news and bad news," Will said. "We found Catalina, but she has been... Brainwashed, she has no idea who she is, she thinks her name is Ruby, I've taken her up to the infirmary, Harry said he and Charlie are going to have a look at her." 

Eugene was speechless for a moment then stood back up. "How did you find her?" 

"A witch appeared disguised as the handmaiden Faith. She had thrown Joe away then disappeared,” Will said.

“Lance is going to hit the roof when he sees her,” Varian sighed as he put a hand over his face.

“One of the witches had brought her back?” Rapunzel was baffled; why would they do that?

“He sure is… At least she’s in a safe place now, strange one of them had brought her back,” Eugene said then turned to Rapunzel. “Do you want to come up and see her blondie?”

Rapunzel nodded then turned to Varian and Cassandra. “You did great today, you were so brave going out there like that… I am so sorry for what Pete did to you, but we will get through it all.”

“Thanks, Raps, I’m going to head back home now… I’m exhausted,” Cass said as she rubbed the back of her neck. “He really went for it… He’s not the same person anymore.”

Rapunzel sighed. “Yeah… I suppose not… This is not how I wanted things to end! I-I wanted-“

“I know, but there’s nothing else we can do… The main priority is to keep the people safe even if that means he will have to be killed,” Cass said.

“She’s right… I never wanted to take his life, but if he keeps attacking us I won’t have a choice, but I’ll make sure it’s quick and not too painful… Maybe at least then he will be at peace,” Eugene said.

Cass nodded, that did seem to be what the problem was, and the Shadow Man had poisoned his mind so badly, how could they hope for any redemption for him?

Rapunzel put her hands over her face and broken into tears. She was very emotional today, it was not like Pete was her friend, but she was hoping for a happy ending for everyone, including him to hear that he was going to be killed devastated her.

“Oh, come here, honey,” Eugene said and pulled her into a hug.

“I wish it did not come to this Your Highness,” Will said. “Shame, he could have had a good life.”

“That is if Stefan doesn’t kill him first, right, Megan?” Varian said as he looked at her.

“Yeah, once he has served his purpose he will be hit with the killing curse then disposed of, might make it appear like suicide by dumping him into a river or hanging him up on a tree,” Meg said.

Cass breathed a heavy sigh, she was knackered, she shook her head it also saddened her that it came to that point, but there was nothing more she could do, she was frustrated that he was on the loose again, they were so close to capturing him. She felt Meg’s hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s get you back home Cass, we can get back to work tomorrow,” Meg said.

“You’re right.”

“Yeah, fighting Pete, saving Stan, his child and Harry… You have really gone above, and beyond today, you can take a break now,” Eugene said.

Cass nodded, the thing about going into hiding weighed on her mind, she supposed Woodlock did not know about her community service, but now she was in Meg’s position of having to keep watching over her shoulder for them. On her guard, now that they had the ability to disguise themselves as other people that would be much harder.

"Eugene, I need to tell you something about Mrs Bader," Eugene said. 

Eugene furrowed his brow. "What's the matter?" 

"You know Evans... His wife had spiked Lily to make her baby die," Meg said. 

Eugene's eyes widened slightly then groaned as he rubbed his temples. "Ah for goodness sake... Can't people just behave themselves for five minutes! Don't worry I'll get onto it, thanks for letting me know, Meg." 

* * *

“Catalina!” Lance cried as he ran straight into the room where his daughter was being treated with Keira beside him. He was so relieved that she had been found alive, he would have given anything for that.

“Mr Strongbow… Your daughter has been obliviated,” Charlie said.

“Wha- What does that mean?” Lance said then looked at her. She looked so lost and confused.

“I-I want my mom!”

“Mom’s dead, Cat… She died a long time ago,” Keira said then sat next to her, but she stared at her as though she had never seen her before then looked at Charlie. “You mean she’s lost her memory?”

“More like it was taken away from her with the obliviate charm, taken her away changed her identity then someone rescued her and brought her back,” Charlie said.

“Y-You mean those venomous demonic snakes messed up her head? She’s forgotten everything, and there’s no way you can stop that?” Lance cried.

Charlie sighed as he looked back at her. He was not sure what he could do; he had never successfully reversed the charm before.

“Let’s see if the Phoenix power works,” Harry said as he approached him.

“I suppose so… One way to test it out,” Charlie replied.

Harry knelt in front of Catalina to try and not appear intimidating. “Hello, miss… Your real name is Catalina, you got caught up in that mess earlier and had your memory taken away, I’m just going to touch your head to see if my power can help you regain your memories.”

Catalina did not reply, but she still looked bewildered as the stranger touched the top of her head.

Harry sighed. He hoped this worked. “Flower unleash heaven’s light, share your power with me, turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed. Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me.”

Gold and ruby lights swirled around her. She looked at them completely fascinated by them when it stopped she stared back at him then broke into tears.

“It’s alright… You have been through a terrifying time, do you know who you are now?” Harry said as he passed her a handkerchief.

“M-My name is C-Catalina,” she whimpered. “I-I don’t know… Anything else.”

Harry and Charlie sighed; it looked like it could not even undo the memory charm.

Charlie cursed under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose, she was only a child, it was so cruel of them to snatch away her memory, which meant Stan would not have recovered his memories either. It appeared there were two things the Phoenix Flower could not do, recover lost memories or body parts.

“Well… It might take some time to recover your memories, let’s see how you are later, you should get some rest,” Harry said.

Catalina stared at the other girl as she had broken into tears and comforted by a big man.

“Catalina, it’s me, Keira… Your sister!” Keira cried as she moved closer to her and held her hand. “You have to remember me!”

“Keira?” Catalina blinked, she was surprised with a big hug from her and their dad.

"Oh come here," Lance said as tears streamed down his face, it broken his heart that she could not remember either of them, he pulled the pair of them into a big papa hug. "Daddy's here. Daddy's got you." 

"Daddy," Catalina mumbled, it felt nice to be cuddled by him. 

* * *

Cass was greeted with a big papa bear hug when she returned home.

“Thank goodness you’ve got out there safe! I was afraid something would go terribly wrong, and you would be killed!” David said. “I had to stop myself from thinking about all the horrid things they could have done to you to stay strong for Lilian.”

Cass sighed as she backed away. “Well a lot of things had gone wrong, the Serpents attacked us on the way in, Sam had got blasted in the face and lost his eye, they had broken Varian’s automaton, nearly killed him, one of them had tortured him… Pete caught us taking the flower and attacked us. I tried to fight him, but he played dirty and burnt my arm.”

David’s eyes widened then hardened into a glare; clearly, all sympathy he had for him had vanished once he heard that he dared to hurt his baby girl. “He had burnt you?”

“Yeah… Right here,” Cass said as she held out her left arm and pointed to the middle of her forearm. “Charlie had helped me fix it after.”

David stared at it, then sighed as he shook his head. “I can’t believe he would have gone that far… All for what some magical flower, he could not even share it with you?”

“Nope, he wanted it to give to his sick girlfriend… Yeah he’s in a relationship with one of them, a toxic one at that but there’s nothing we can do to save him now,” Cass said. “He thinks burning half of a Kingdom is worth it to avenge his father’s death which was so long ago there’s nothing that can even be done about it also to please his new lover.”

“That would probably be Mel… She used to have the Phoenix powers, but it faded over time as did mine,” Meg said. “I soon realised Shadow was only with me for that… He tried to get us to pass it on to him.”

“How?” Cass asked.

“Sleeping with him… Mel was not always bad, but she had picked up on his toxic behaviour and started copying him, she might have actual feelings for Peter, but it's still toxic... Maybe if they had met under different circumstances it would be better, he is not a good person right now, you said he did not show any remorse for burning you or anything,” Meg said.

“Not even a little bit, it’s clear his mind has been poisoned to the point that he is beyond help, it’s too late now… Eugene will have no choice but to kill him. He thinks maybe then he would be sort of peaceful,” Cass said. “At least he would get one of his wishes being back with his dad… Although in spirit, it’s unfortunate how things have turned out.”

David sighed as he put an arm around her shoulder. “I know honey, but you’ve done everything you could… I have been thinking about what Woodlock said about going into hiding if you want to do that I will be your secret keeper.”

“I don’t think I can Dad, I mean I still have my community service order to complete, I can’t go out while hiding away from them… They probably won’t return for a long time anyway. I want to keep the people safe from them, especially after seeing what they had done to Old Corona.”

“Even though they heckled you in the streets ever since the battle?” Meg said.

Cass sighed. “Most of them had just left me alone… This is a bigger issue; the whole of Corona could be destroyed like Amestria was thousands of lives are at stake.”

David glanced at the floor. He was devastated that it had gotten so far out of control. "You don't have to fight them, the last thing I want is for you to die at their hands, they have almost done that today!" 

"I know, Dad... If we're going to get through this, we will need to put our differences aside and work together! For too long people have let hate divide them, now we are all in danger of being killed either by a spell or fire, luckily we still have time to figure something out," Cassandra said. 

"I know... We can't turn back or sneak around, the only way is through it, I suppose... We will just have to keep our guard up while we are out there. Hopefully, this nightmare will be over soon," David said. 

"Yeah, it's just been ridiculous... If only he had just- Nevermind," Cass sighed as she rested her head on her hand. "I just want to have my supper and go to bed." 

"You have been through absolute hell with Peter... Just be careful you don't push yourself too much, okay?" Meg said as she put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't want you to suffer more pain." 

"I know, I'll try," Cass said. "You had Phoenix powers?" 

Meg nodded. "Yeah... That's what my supply was, that and well... Someone for him to sleep with, probably done the same with most of the female Serpents, probably with Mel to, trick her into it, he's just uh- I don't even know how to describe it." 

"Oh, Meg... I'm so sorry," Cass said as she put her hand over her's. 

"That's disgusting... This Shadow Man is an awful person, the sooner he is out of here, the better," David said as he shook his head. 

"Thanks... You know when Varian asked me if I was magical?" Meg said. 

"Yeah... You said you might be a bit," Cass said. 

"S-Stefan had told me I was a half-blood, my mother was a non-magical person, and my father was a wizard... I had given up on magic since I left him, I just could not stand it anymore," Meg said. 

"Okay... Do you want to go back into it?" Cass said. 

"I-I don't know... I still don't feel comfortable using it; after everything, it's just been peculiar... I had a special kind of magic like Rapunzel then I lost it, the Phoenix emblem on Aurora's armour feels like something I should know about... I'm not making any sense am I?" Meg said. 

"It's okay... You're trying to figure out who you are since you had grown up in the orphanage, where you would not have gotten any knowledge about your heritage, they pick out a name for you and guess your birthday so that might be different, I hope you find the answers you need," Cass said. 

Meg put on a small smile. "Thanks, Cass... I don't know where even to start, but I guess I'll get there." 

Cass nodded. "I hope it's nothing too tragic, you've been through enough pain already... You're a great friend, Meg, you have been there for me ever since I left the dungeons if you ever want to talk about... Stefan or anything I'm all ears." 

"Thanks, and if you want to talk about Zhan Tiri, Pete or anything else you can talk to me too if you want," Meg said.

Cass smiled, she liked that Meg was giving her a choice not pressing her for answers, she had always been a reserved person to liked to keep herself to herself although she is a bit more open than she used to be there are still some things she wanted to keep to herself. She figured Meg was the same way, she expected her to be upset about her fighting with Pete but knew it was because she cared about her so much. 

* * *

Lily was overjoyed to have her husband back, and her baby healed, there was still one thing that weighed heavily on her mind, Peter. She sighed as she picked up the group picture and looked at it longingly, if only they could take that moment back, she wished she had reached out to him before she found him in the street, checked up on how he was doing after the battle. Maybe then he would not have gotten into such a mess, she did not yet know about the first attack in Old Corona, the fire or the fight with Cass, Varian and Charlie, she was afraid that he was going to be the one who did not get a happy ending. "We were getting along so well but somehow lost our way, I miss your company, the laughs we used to share," she sang to herself. "I don't know what can be done to save you, but I'd give anything for you... Yes, I'd give anything to relive everything with you." 

Patch's ears flattened, he whimpered as he laid down beside her, he missed him to he perked up when Stan entered, he moved towards Lily and put an arm over her shoulders as he heard her crying. 

"I know you are stuck in darkness and despair, though you won't turn to me please know I'll be right there, I won't be able to fix your problems, but I would do what I can... I'd give anything to relive everything we knew," Lily sang. 

"What's the matter, sweetie?" Stan said as he wiped a tear from her cheek and rubbed her arm. 

“I-I miss Peter… H-He ran away… H-He was taken by a d-dark wizard who is doing terrible things to him,” Lily cried. “I’ll never get to see him again!”

“Oh, Lily… I’m so sorry,” Stan said as he gently held her and stroked her hair. “Maybe we can sort something out, I can go back on guard now, shh, shh, it’s okay,” Stan whispered and kissed her forehead. “It’s okay.”

"Y-You still don't remember him?" Lily said as she had shown him the picture. 

Stan sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry... I-I still can't remember... I don't recognise him, but the doctor said my ability to remember new things is better and I can stay awake so I can go back onto the guard." 

Lily nodded, that was brilliant, fantastic, that's just what she wanted for her husband, but it still pained her that their friend was gone, she could not stop worrying about the dreadful things that would happen to him. It saddened her that he still did not remember the person who was his closest friend for a decade. 

"You should probably sit down... How far along are you?" Stan said as he was worried about her, she looked like she had been struggling greatly with the pregnancy and caring for him while he was sick even with Dave's help. 

"I-I don't know... I was in denial a lot because it had always gone wrong in the past... I thought I was under twelve weeks, but clearly, I'm beyond that now," Lily said. 

"Rest up sweetheart, you look exhausted, can't be easy having a little person inside you for almost a year... I'll do the supper," Stan said as he guided her to an armchair then kissed her cheek. "Maybe we should see a doctor. They might be able to figure it out." 

Lily sighed, she was worn out, but she had put on a fake smile for him. "Yeah... Thank you, Honey." 

"No problem... I know things are looking really dark right now and scary, but if anyone can bring out the light it's you, things will work out, in the end, we will all live happily ever after," Stan said then moved to the kitchen. 

Lily wiped the tears from her eyes and looked back at the photograph. She was not so sure about that. 

* * *

A few hours later, after Mel returned, she sneaked into Pete’s tent to make sure he was not having any more bad reactions from the potion but much to her horror he was gone. She could not understand, he should still have been asleep, Shadow had given him enough to last for the night or at least she thought he did, clearly he had done it wrong. She ran outside and scanned the site. There was no see him anywhere; her heart sunk as she thought he would attempt to take his own life. She dashed away from the tent, up the forest to find him on edge in the middle of a bridge staring at the river. 

“Peter! Stop!”

He looked back at her blankly. He had no feeling other than despair. “I’m going, Mel.”

She was shocked to see he was still serious about killing himself. “Hey, don’t talk like that… You still have a chance.”

“No… No, I don’t, I know I promised I would get the Phoenix Flower for you, but I-I can't do it... T-The things… I-I had done un-unforgivable… M-Maybe I-I s-should had done t-this when I left the orphanage. It would have saved everyone from the pain and agony I had put them through,” he said as he stood himself up and walked out. “At least no one else will get this stupid thing if it goes with me, it would be useless anyway. G-Get out of here… T-Take care of the kid, he or she would be better off without me in their life, I’m not fit to care for a cat let alone a child… I-I’m too unstable, always have been… A-Always will be.”

“Peter, no!” Mel cried as she raced over to him.

“It’s the only way I can make this end! I-If I go back, I could turn bad again even without the potions... I was bad... I-I could hurt more people… I’m too dangerous, I’ve got a bad head… I’m not a normal human… I’m a demon. I’ll have to be put down anyway might as well save them the bother, they won’t care how I die just as long as I’m gone for good… Funny, the trash is taking itself out,” Pete said. He chuckled under his breath. He thought he was a terrible mistake his parents had made; all he did was ruin people’s lives. 

“NOO!” Mel screamed as he had jumped off the edge and plummeted into the icy, cold river where he would drown within minutes, she had frozen up, she did not know how to swim, she watched in horror as he was swept further away. The worst part was she knew she had a role in leading up to him doing this; in ways, she was just as bad as Shadow. She manipulated him into thinking she loved him then he had actually grown on her, now she possibly had a child with him. She could not bear to look anymore. Raven jumped to his rescue despite him not wanting to be saved. He was trying to save other people.He burst out of the water and tossed him onto the bank. He was still alive. He had gotten him just in time, he got out and carried his body back to the tent.

“Master… Peter had just tried to kill himself again. He is feeling guilty about the attacks,” Ivy said.

Shadow groaned, he was even more hard work than before, earlier they had to watch out for guards now they have to watch he does not take himself away. “How is he?”

“Unconscious again but still alive… Raven saved him before he got too far and has dried him up, best keep any long ropes away from him though,” Ivy replied.

“Where is Mel? She was supposed to be watching him!” Shadow snapped.

“She had gotten scared. She tried to talk him out of it… But he’s convinced that this is the only way it will end, he wants the Fire Stone to die with him so no one else can use it,” Ivy said. "She's very shaken right now. She's still on the bridge crying her eyes out." 

Shadow groaned as he stared off into the distance, it seemed no matter what he tried he could not completely control him, even when Mel had wiped out his memories, and he had given him a stronger potion he went back and forth, but there was one thing that he had not done yet. “Hmm... He is wearing me out with him being all dramatic and emotional; maybe it’s time I used the imperious curse on him."


	56. Rewrite The Stars

Four hours had passed since Peter had attempted to take his own life by jumping off a bridge. They moved him to lie in the caravan where he would be safer and warmer than in the tent. He was like a caterpillar in a cocoon with four blankets wrapped around his body.

Tears streamed down Mel’s face. She felt like an awful person; it was not until he returned to the tower and turned on her; it hit what they had done to him. He now hated himself more than anyone. He did not get a chance to think things through even if he had said no to the potion Shadow would have force-fed it to him, it looked like he would get a higher dosage next time. The Hate Potion had done so much harm to his well-being, even when it had worn off. It made him unable to reason as he switched from one side of his personality to another in minutes; no one could see clearly in that condition. He never would have done and said those things otherwise. He suffered because of their selfishness, to the point he did not even want to be alive anymore. She did not expect it to get that bad, none of this was worth getting that stupid flower, she wished she had stopped him before he left but wouldn’t Shadow have just forced him anyway?

She sighed as she rested her head on her hand. Why was she so upset about him dying? He was there to do a task and failed. She was just there to keep him on their side. She had seduced him with her beauty and love-bombing. They had gone very far a few kisses led to them doing something even more intimate. She was not supposed to love him, but she ended up doing just that. With him, she had seen that not all muggles were horrible witch haters out for their magical blood like those who had burnt her at stake. She knew they had to end this. She had hurt him almost as much as Shadow had. She had used the obliviate charm on him and given him those potions, maybe if she had not done those things they could have been happy together.

He had apologised for snapping at her which she deserved, he was right. She was using him to get the flower so she could become a more powerful witch. She had done a lot more to him and never said sorry. There were a few things she had lied to him about. She thought she would have to accept that she had broken the trust he had given her, he would likely not want to stay with her anymore. She would have to let him go, no matter how painful that was, it was one of the consequences of the actions she wished she had not manipulated him so much.

“No one can rewrite the stars... There’s no going back. I’m not the one you are meant to be with, it’s not up to you, it’s not up to me when everyone is telling us what to be,” She sang softly to herself. “No one can rewrite the stars... It is too late for us tonight.” She jumped when she heard him groan as he eventually regained consciousness.

“M-Mel... I-I’m sick,” Pete said as he looked back at her, his eyes were tearful and sore from the bloodshot. “K-Kill me... A spell, a potion, anything!”

“I-I can’t do that!” Mel cried.

“Mel... S-Shadow will keep using me as a weapon; it’s not even safe for me to return to... Corona... Iscrewed everything up... T-That’s what I always do,” Pete cried. He tried to claw the stone out, but it would not budge, he groaned loudly then fell back and panted as he felt a terrible pain in his chest. “M-Mel... Please... I-I can’t... carry on... like... this!”

“I can’t kill you... I-I-“ Mel stammered as it surprised her how much it upset her to see him like this.

“You... what?”

“L-love... You.” She said as tears streamed down her face, she did not even care about the Phoenix Flower anymore. She was more worried about the harm the Fire Stone was doing to him. His rash had worsened, it had spread further across his face and neck it looked very sore.

Pete sighed as he thought she still was not getting it. “T-Then... Let me... Go... I’ll say only... Get worse.”

“Peter, please... Don’t do this!” Mel cried as she tightened her grip on his hand. “T-There is still a way to make this right again.”

“There isn’t... E-Everyone... H-Hates me... It’s all... My fault,” Pete said in between pants. “J-Just kill me...Y-You’re b-better off... W-without me... Anyway!”

Mel gripped tightly onto the sheet while holding her wand in the other hand. “I-I can’t kill you!”

Pete sighed. He thought he should have known she would not be able to bring herself to it. “I’m such a... Freaking... Dumbass." 

"I'm so, so sorry, Peter... I had driven you to... This, I had hurt you way worse than you had hurt me," Mel said as she cried. 

Pete did not reply. He was in too much pain. He could not take it anymore, everything was hurting; the worst was in his chest.

"W-We... Can talk about it later... Just try to focus on your breathing, okay," Mel said as she put a hand on his chest, it had not gotten over the cold water shock, and he was still stressed. 

"I... Don't- I-I don't... want to... Live... Mel," Pete panted as the pain worsened, he did not even want to be saved in the first place, he thought at least he would get his wish of being back with his dad, twenty-nine years later. 

"P-Peter, please... This little person will need you... I can't go through this on my own," Mel cried as she put a hand over her womb which had not grown out yet, at this point, the child was an embryo, a bunch of cells, it would take a while to form into a human.

"Y-You've got... Friends... Ivy, Raven... Better than me... I-I can't do this... Mel... S-Shadow is going to make... Do more... Bad things," Peter said in a hushed voice. "I-I... Love you... Mel... I-I want... You... To... Be... H-Happy," Pete stammered as his breathing became more rigid. 

Mel sighed as he still did not understand, she did not feel deserving his love or any happiness, she did not know what to do, she could not kill him, but she could not see a way to make things better either. If he returned to Corona he would likely be strung up if they stayed Shadow would continue to push him into more trouble, screwed, either way, there was not enough confidence to fight him, now he did not have the strength to. She held onto his hand, put her wand aside and turned his head to make him face her. "Peter, please... Just hold on, you can get through this." 

Pete groaned and continued to pant. He just wanted this to end! 

"How is he?" Raven whispered as he entered. 

"H-He's having trouble breathing... He's scared of hurting more people... He still wants to die," Mel replied, she had gotten tearful again. 

"Don't scare her like that again, you hear me? You've got a kid to care for to!" Raven said as he perched on the edge of the bed, he felt his wrist his pulse, it did not feel right, more pale than usual and broken into a cold sweat, his breathing was shallow, not even trying to fight for himself, he moved the blankets back. "The fall into the river has made him seriously ill." 

"M-My power... It's gone!" Mel cried as she tried to search for the thin red streak. 

"Yeah, you had already used the last of it on him... When he was sick, that's what made you snap and fight with Shadow," Raven said. 

"R-Rave... Stop... Saving... Me... L-Let me... Go... Damn... It!" Pete glared at him; he was a pest that kept popping up. 

"Now is not the time for you to die... Didn't you hear what I just said?" Raven replied and put a hand over Pete's heart. It was an irregular rhythm which explained the panting. "Shut up and let me help you, don't do anything stupid like that again." 

"N-No... I-I don't want-" 

"I wasn't giving you a choice," Raven said he squeezed his nose and force-fed him a potion that eased the pain in his chest. "Just to make sure you don't try it again... I'm going to try another way to make you keep still," he swished his wand and cast a non-verbal spell, a silver mist appeared from the end of his wand and went into his head. 

The feelings of fear, guilt and anxiety had faded away; Peter breathed out a heavy sigh as he became numb; he had not even noticed that Mel had moved to the other side. He slowly blinked then found himself drifting back to sleep. 

Raven rubbed a hand over his face. This was exasperating. He could not understand how he had woken up so quickly when Shadow forcefully sedated him. He was not even sure how good the imperious curse would be on him. He moved the blankets back up and tucked them as tightly as he could; he felt his face again, which was starting to warm up. "Keep an eye on him, Mel, and just in case he wakes up too soon I'm going to lock up, do not let him out until morning, do you understand?"

"R-Raven... Can't you see what all this is doing to him? We are the reason he wants to die," Mel said as she raised her head from her knees. "This-This is going too far. We need to let him go!"

Raven sighed and shook his head. "He is just a tool, one that is not working very well at the moment, but still, you had known that from the start... You need to toughen up, I told you not to get too attached to him, but you did! You had even... Mated with him on this bed, I heard you two making strange noises... You were telling him to be faster. You were both naked. He was on top of you then you were on top of him, those are images I cannot unsee! You know your child is going to be a half-blood!"

Mel sighed as she cringed; she could never get any privacy, even in intimate moments like that. The way he went on made them sound like animals. "I don't think that's when I got- It does not even matter now, you're missing the point! He is suffering from this. It's completely ruined his life, that is why he has been trying to kill himself, Raven!" Mel snapped. "He needs to go back home, even if that means he will have to face punishment for the fire and everything else." 

"You have fallen in love with him, haven't you?" Raven said. 

Mel shrugged. "I mean he did grow on me... I just opened myself up to him. We got really close. I don’t know it-" 

"Happened, yeah... Like that-" He retorted as he pointed to the bed. "You know if he gets taken, you will never see him again, he will be strung up, you don't want that do you?" 

Mel sighed as she moved a strand of hair behind her ear. "No of course not but-" 

"Then take care of him, do what Shadow and I tell you! Do not try to overthrow him again!" Raven snapped. 

"What?" Mel looked at him baffled, wondering what she had done to make him think she would do that? 

"I've had enough of this. I'm locking up, do not let him out, Mel!" Raven commanded as he pointed to him. "You've got that? You are responsible for his keep, do whatever you can to make him stop hurting himself and keep him warm."

"Raven, please... Look at him," Mel pleaded. "He's suffering from this!"

The wizard did not listen, and he could not be bothered to argue with her, he turned and exited the caravan then quickly locked the door so he and the others would sleep.

He appeared to be peacefully sleeping, but he would not get any peace unless this ended. Mel picked up her wand and aimed it at the centre of his chest. "Avarda k-K-"

She cracked; she just could not bring herself to complete the curse. "I'm so sorry, Peter... I put you through all that pain. I had hurt you so badly... All for that stupid flower! Now I can't even... Do this... Why did you have to be so cute?" She punched his shoulder. "With those damn puppy eyes! Treat me with the love I did not even deserve no matter how much I had pushed you! You're the craziest guy I've ever met, and I've seen a few before I met you that was Raven!" She shook her head as she thought what the point of talking to him when he could not hear a word she said. She felt his hand as his arm hung limply over the bed like when he had taken the sleeping draught, he seemed to be better but was still ill, she pulled the blankets back, squeezed in as she laid closely beside him, she did not want him to throw himself into the river again. He was still not warm enough maybe she could use her body heat to help, she hugged and rested her head on his chest. “Just keep holding on, you’ll be okay,” she kissed his cheek and drifted off to sleep. 

A few minutes later Shadow entered, he smirked as he looked at them, he expected her to break the bed rule and hold him close, but it looked like they were not going to any 'mischief' tonight. "How cute," he muttered as he thought it was odd how attached she had gotten to him as she held him close to her. He hissed as he felt sharp pains in his ribcage, chugged on a flacon with a pain-killing potion and got into his bed. He hoped to get some quiet for once. 

* * *

The day had started well, although Cass was still not entirely over what had happened in the Old Corona woods, she shivered as she thought back on the fight with Pete, how close he had gotten to beating them, how bad he had gotten since she had last seen him. 

"Oh, hey Stan, you're back on guard! That's great!" Cass said as she and Meg arrived at the shop. 

Stan smiled back at her but also a bit puzzled. "Yeah... Thanks uh... Faith?" 

"Cassandra, Faith is the Lady In Waiting for Raps," Cass replied. "She's a few years younger than me, shorter and wears a yellow dress." 

"Ah, okay... Sorry, Cassandra, it's just kind of hard... Keeping up with all these different names," Stan said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. 

"It's okay, I imagine it will take a while for you to adjust to being back with us, how is your memory overall? Do you remember the black rocks? The Sun Drop?" Cass said. 

Stan looked at her with a bewildered expression as though she started talking in another language. "S-Sun-Drop? How... What do you mean with that?" 

Cass sighed; those memories were still gone. "It was like the Phoenix Flower... It saved our Queen from dying from an infection in childbirth. I think Dad told you that story... Don't you remember?" 

"Princess... Ari- Rapunzel?" Stan said almost getting the Queen and Princess mixed up.

"Yeah, she used to have magical powers that could heal anything then was stolen... By my mother, she was very cunning, kept up the act for eighteen years," Cassandra said, she could understand the mix up with names, but the way he had forgotten about Rapunzel's story was worrying.

"I had long flowing golden hair, do you remember that?" Rapunzel said as she pointed to her tidied pixie crop. 

Stan sighed and shook his head, there was still fog there and a large gap between the past and the present, this meant he no longer remembered Pete, and he did not know of him either, it was as though they had never even met.

Cass had hoped that someday the two would reunite and become friends again, but the likelihood of that happening appeared very small. She sighed as she glanced at him from over her shoulder, she knew he was grateful for her help, but he still looked like something was weighing heavy on his mind, which made him feel down. 

"Hi... Pete?" She heard Stan say as he turned to the younger man that looked somewhat similar to his old friend. as he turned to the younger man 

Josh narrowed his eyes as he turned to him. "What? I'm nothing like that guy, no he's not a man anymore, he's a freaking demon!" 

"Calm down, it was just a mistake, you know how he is with names and stuff," Will said then turned back to Stan and hushed his tone to a whisper. "This is Josh... Best to avoid talking about Pete around him since there was an unfortunate incident yesterday." 

"Oh, sorry, Josh," Stan said. "Who is Pete?" 

Will sighed then moved him to the other side of the room. "He was a guard, the closest friend you had since you were in your twenties... Joint at the hip, you seemed like the only friend he had, but a colleague betrayed him, and he ran away, now he has gotten into dark magic and God knows what else." 

"Oh, poor Stan... He hasn't gotten his memories back," Rapunzel said as she stood beside Cass while helping her paint. 

"Yeah, I guess there are some limits on what the Phoenix Flower can do... Sadly there isn't anything I can do about Pete, although it is partly your father's fault that he had gotten into dark magic in the first place," Cass said. 

"Oh yeah... He accused him of murder, made it very easy for The Shadow Man to manipulate him, maybe if he had not released those posters Eugene could have persuaded him to back home," Rapunzel said. "He's planning to send him to a mental asylum... He wants him to suffer for his actions and does not want to keep him in the dungeons or the barge, I tried to stop him but it's going to be even harder to put it off now." 

"He just makes things a hundred times worse... He was after the Phoenix Flower as well to replace the Sun-Drop in case of emergencies. I'm sure he was irritated that I had beaten him to it," Cass said. 

"He never told me anything about it, didn't he know about Stan? Poor Harry was only young, and he got hit with the killing curse, we were so lucky you had gotten it!" Raps exclaimed. 

Cass shrugged as she swiped her brush up. "He did just didn’t care, I've heard he's gotten sick himself now." 

"Oh yeah... Harry said he has been cursed but not sure what kind it is, he's got black marks on his hand, he's amazing he had just come back to life, and he's straight to work," Rapunzel said then turned to Meg. "Do you have any ideas what it could be?" 

"Could be Shadow's work or another dark wizard... I have seen it happen before. It's deadly... Has he worn anything unusual?" Meg said. "Sometimes they put curses on items to harm those who either touch it or-" 

"AAHHH!" A little girl screamed. 

"Oh, my God!" A woman gasped. 

"Faith!" Varian cried. 

Cass, Raps, Meg, Stan, Will and Josh rushed out to see what was going on, in one of the alleyways there was Rebecca, one of the maids, Faith laid on the floor. 

"I-I told her not to touch it," Joe said. 

Faith moved from side to side then shot up in midair, her arms straight out on either side, and her jaws opened wide, she screamed, but her voice came out very quietly, she was up there for a few minutes then crashed back onto the ground and shook a bit. 

The people crowded around her feeling a mix of horror and curiosity. 

"Stand back!" A voice boomed from a distance. "Stand back all of you!" 

Cass, Meg, Raps, Varian and the guards turned around to see Sam coming up to them, he now he had a black patch over his left eye, he bent down and lifted Faith in his arms. "I'll have Charlie or Harry look after her." He turned around and seen Rapunzel going towards the mysterious necklace. 

"Do not touch that!" Sam said. "Do not touch that necklace, Princess. It is cursed!" 

"What kind of curse would that be?" Cass said. 

"I don't know. We'll have to check it out," Sam replied. 

"Will Faith be okay?" Varian said as he looked at the young woman with a fearful expression. 

"Yeah... She will just need to take some medication and bed rest, maybe some charms, my brothers will figure something out," Sam replied. "If you see anything unusual lying around don't touch it even if you are wearing gloves the curse can still get to you." 

Rapunzel moved the leather back to better look at the dodgy jewellery, it was metallic, with diamond-shaped pattern with white pearls. "What on Earth?" 

"Yikes... That's something I haven't seen before, poor girl," Meg said as she shook her head. 

"I imagine Charlie and Harry have got their hands full today," Cass said. 

"Yep, trying to reverse the memory charm on Catalina, fix the curse on my dad, looking out for Serpents and now Faith has been cursed, I just hope they succeed in breaking it," Rapunzel said. "This dark magic stuff is really starting to creep me out." 

"I think that's the whole point of it, Raps, to terrify people or well... Kill them brutally," Cass said as she peered at the necklace, it looked ancient, she wondered how many times it had been used before, what sort of curse was cast on it? Who had done it in the first place?

"Windgardium leviosa," Mustang commanded as he made the necklace lift on its own and slip back into the bag. "How exactly did this get into the handmaiden's possession?" 

"I-I don't know, she just went in there," Rebecca said as she pointed at the alleyway. "Then came back with some kind of package and said it was important that she delivered it." 

"I told her to put it down... It looked suspicious," Joe said. "I couldn't let her take it to the Princess." 

"I-It was meant for me?" Rapunzel gasped, her eyes widened in horror as she for a moment imagined herself being suspended in mid-air and being silenced so much that she could not even scream. 

"I thought the Serpents had left the country again to prepare for the next attack, looks like they had more tricks up their sleeve," Cass said. 

"This looks like something Ivy would do, she specialises in potions and curses, Mel is more into spells and charms," Meg said. 

Cass breathed out a heavy sigh as she put a hand over her face and groaned, it looked like she was never going to get a quiet day during her community service, just when she thought things could not get any worse, they did. 

"Hey, Charlie, are you okay?" Varian said as he turned around and seen the older man who stood still as a statue, he looked dead in the eyes. 

Cass snapped out of her thoughts and turned to him. It concerned her how he did not reply, usually this guy was an absolute chatterbox. She moved closer to him. It was like he was in a trance; she clicked her fingers to snap him out of it. "Charlie!" When she failed to get a reaction out of him, she tried again. "Charlie!" 

Charlie blinked then looked back at her with a bewildered expression as the curse had worn off, he glanced around the street as though it was a place he had never seen before. "W-Wha-What am I doing here? I should be at... The castle... How did I wind up here?" 

"Looks like you were under the imperious curse," Meg said as she stepped forward. "They used you to pass the cursed necklace onto Faith." 

"Imperious? That's the mind control spell, isn't it?" Varian said. 

Meg nodded. "Yeah, it means I control... Oh, no." 

"What?" Raps said. 

"That means... One of them had gotten into the castle... They might use it on more of them later," Meg replied. 

"What should we do?" Raps said. 

"You will have to talk to the Aurora Captain and watch yourself Raps, the last thing I want is for you to get cursed to," Cass said. "Meg, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Meg replied as she crossed her arms.

"Why is Shadow Man doing all this? What is he hoping to achieve?" Cass said. "Does he have some beef with Frederic?"

Meg nodded. "Yeah, he does have a bone to pick with your king... He had hurt the magical community by arresting anyone who used it because rumour had it that Gothel was a witch, his mother was one of them who had been executed. He did nothing to stop the hate crimes against magic people if anything he encouraged it. The Aurora are likely not aware of it or are here to help the Royal guard. Stefan just hates Royals in general, but mostly it is to follow in his father's footsteps, be the strongest wizard in the world wielding the power of the Phoenix and fire." 

"Someone needs a better hobby... How is that even going to work? Is there some kind of legend about them being together or something?" Stan said.

"No... The Phoenix Flower came after the Fire Stone; it only appears when it does its... Thing, I'm not entirely sure what he is planning but whatever it is nothing good can come from it," Meg said. 

* * *

"Shadow, stop!" Mel cried as she put herself protectively over him; he was very vulnerable as he was still unconscious because the spell Raven used outlasted the potion. "He hasn’t even woken up yet, leave him alone!" 

"Get back, Mel!" Shadow shouted as he pushed her back. 

"No, this has to stop, can't you see how much this is hurting him?" Mel said as she pointed at the crimson stone lodged in his chest and glared at him. 

Shadow grabbed her arm and thrown her off the bed. He got on top of Pete again to trap him just as he was waking up, he drew his wand and pointed it in his face. "Imperio."

A white mist appeared from his wand and gotten into his head, he shook his head furiously, trying to resist but overpowered him. When he looked at Shadow, he had dead eyes. He was in a strange, dream-like state. He did not feel scared, angry, or anything at all, it was strangely peaceful. 

"Peter!" Mel cried as she looked at him in horror, she watched as he blindly followed after Shadow, it was no use, he was under his complete control, the worst thing about the curse was there was no set time limit, it could last days or even months. She had no idea how she could snap him out of it. She followed after them and watched as Pete stood beside Shadow, still as a statue and silent.

“Recite the incantation,” Shadow ordered.

“Hellfire light up the night, dark fire destroy everything in sight,” Pete said his voice sounded flat and robotic, he had heated up, but his face was still blank. “Ashes to ashes! Dust to dust... Release the spirit, release the spirit.”

“Oh no,” Mel whispered as she put a hand over her face, a large flame appeared. She hated that look in his eyes; behind them, he was dead. She wished it was possible to rewrite the stars, that they could have been in a healthy relationship and he would not be put through this, being forced to do things whether he wanted to do it or not. 

"Louder!" Shadow shouted. 

“Hellfire light up the night, dark fire destroy everything in sight! Ashes to ashes! Dust to dust... Release the spirit, release the spirit” Pete yelled although he was void of any emotion his voice was enough to boost the flame, which made it grow into a bigger fire. 

Mel knelt on the ground and leaned against fallen tree bark, she cried, she had no idea what to do, how to snap Pete out of the imperious curse or how to get him out of this without getting him killed either by the King or Shadow once he was no longer of use to him. 

"Oh Mel, you've gotten so soft since you have been knocked up, you had taken away Ruby, returned her to the muggles, it's funny how out of all of them it's him who gets you pregnant, whatever possessed you to pick him to be your mate?" 

She lifted her head and seen Ivy in front of her; she felt like slapping her across the face. "It doesn't matter if our child's a half-blood... I don't know. I can't even remember us doing it!" 

Ivy sighed. "You're keeping it? You know, your body will never be the same after this... Stretch marks, saggy boobs and baby fat, you will be pushed to your limit during the labour, he is not always going to be around, you will have to raise the freak by yourself." 

At that moment Mel snapped, she sprung up, whipped out her wand, pinned Ivy against a tree and pointed her wand against her throat. "Do not call my baby a freak!" 

Ivy smirked and laughed at her. "Are you going to kill me, Mel? That's bold of you, don't you know what Raven would do to you?" 

Mel growled. "Don't tempt me!"

"Ladies, ladies, come on... Now is not the time for a catfight," Raven said as he put a hand on Mel's shoulder. 

"Butt out, Raven... You better hope I don't get hungry while I'm in cat form and mistake you for a real bird!" Mel hissed as she shoved him away and stormed off. 

"What's with her?" Raven said as he moved closer to his wife. 

"Oh, don't worry, it's just the hormones driving her nuts... She wants to keep the baby now despite its blood type," Ivy said. 

Raven sighed. "Yeah... Ever since she met Peter she's been acting weird, she never seemed that bothered about having kids before." 

"AHH!" Mel screamed as she aimed her wand at a random tree, red sparks flew from her wand and hit the centre of it, knocking off a few layers of wood. She had been hurt by her best friend, who had just mocked her. Shadow pressurised her before she had even decided for herself as if he owned her body just because he had his mark on her arm, she was frightened about what was going to happen to Peter, herself and their child. She felt trapped with no way out, was this seriously the life she wanted for him or her? To be one of The Shadow Man's minions? 

* * *

"Hi, Xavier, you have come to help out to?" Cass said as the elderly blacksmith enter the shop. 

"Yeah, I'm free today, thought I would give you three a hand... I heard you had some trouble with Peter and had seen the damage myself, it will take a very long time for Old Corona to recover," Xavier said as he had set up his workbench. 

Cass sighed and nodded. "Yeah... He had really let it rip. I still don't completely understand why he is doing this... I mean if he didn't Stan and Harry would have died but still taking revenge for something that happened such a long time ago and might not even be true... I've been there, and it just caused more problems, but this is just way out of character for him. One of the guards said you used to give him anger management lessons when he was a child." 

Xavier nodded. "I did... He was a distraught young boy, he used to get into fights with the other children, but as he got older, he had gotten more aggressive, which caused problems for the staff... He was about Varian's age when I had seen him. He had knocked his bedroom door down since the workers had tried to lock him in there for three days." 

Cass paused for a moment. She still found it very hard to imagine him breaking a door off its hinges or being violent at all at a young age; she always thought he was a softie. She guessed she would have been the same if she was put into isolation in an orphanage. "How did you get him to stop getting angry?" 

"I had a quiet word with him, warned him that if he did not change his ways, he would find himself going down a dark path and be destroyed... I had taught him some breathing techniques, some advice to try and get away from whatever was upsetting him, take a second to think of the consequences before he acted. Only use fighting as self-defence, do not go and beat stuffing out of people for no reason, I used to wear thick gloves, hold my hands up and have him punch them, he was not very strong then so it did not hurt much, then I had given him an old pillow and told him to beat that up instead of a person... It seemed to work," Xavier replied then breathed a heavy sigh. "He had learned that violence is not the answer, so forced himself to bury his negative emotions deep down inside."

"Every time he had seen me, he had made me feel worse," Cass said. "He did not give me a chance to explain anything... When I looked in his eyes yesterday, they were just dead... He was more cruel and twisted then I had expected him to be, he had just let someone torture Varian, a guy who is not even out of his teens... He had tried to beat me up for the flower!" 

Xavier sighed as he shook his head. "One reason The Hate Potion is illegal is the way it messes with your head even after it has worn off. It would make him switch from one side of himself to another frequently so, he might end up taking his own life... That’s one way it destroys you." 

Cass had not considered that but after burning down half of Old Corona, how could anyone be convinced that somebody could redeem him? Why couldn't he hand himself in? She supposed there was still a risk of peace offering going badly wrong like at the Goodwill Festival. She somehow could not see Shadow allowing him to kill himself; what would he do? Pump him with more potions? Cast spells? What would happen when he returned? 


	57. The Hidden Serpent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faith makes a miracle recovery from the cursed necklace.  
> There is a hidden Serpent in New Corona. 
> 
> TW Self-harm

Cass and Meg got back to work. Raps were dragged back to the castle by Joe and Josh following the cursed necklace attack. She was the Queen right now; after all, her freedom was even more restricted, no matter how much she tried to reassure them that she would be okay but of course, they were not willing to take that risk.   
"Stan can look after me," Rapunzel pleaded.   
"With all due respect Prin- Your Majesty, Stan is not of sound mind right now, Cap is just putting him on easy jobs like watching Cassandra and Megan, he can't even remember who you are," Joe said. "It's a trial period to see if he can still work as a guard despite his... Disability."   
Cass breathed a heavy sigh as she glanced at Stan as he stood beside Will, she could imagine how frustrated he was with how he struggled to match names with the right people. There was still the threat of him losing his job if he did not improve soon. She was annoyed with how it could not bring back those memories. She thought once it healed his brain, they would come flooding back. If he got knocked off the guard again, it would mean her efforts with fighting Pete for the Phoenix flower were in vain. The point of it was saving his life and getting him back on track. 

  
"Hey, it will be alright, Frederic once got amnesia, but he soon got his memories back," Will said.   
Stan sighed. "Really? I mean I've got a kid coming up... Lily is five months in if I get sacked how am I going to provide for them? Who else would want someone who had a brain injury?"   
"I thought the Phoenix Flower would have fixed that for you," Will said.   
Stan sighed. "Yeah... It did mostly, but I still have this fog in my head... I get people's names mixed up, and when people tell me things I forget later on."   
"Maybe one of the Aurora medics can help you out, they have been working with a child who had her memory wiped out like you," Will said.   
Cass had no idea what to do about her own situation, she still had not decided whether to go into hiding or not, a part of her did want to get away, but a more stubborn part of her refused to run away, she would not make them see her be afraid of them. She could see how much it pained her dad, but he was more fearful of her being hit with the killing curse. She glanced at Meg, hiding for over a year, a domestic violence survivor, it was scary to think of what could be happening behind closed doors. Those poor people had nowhere to go. Some had put up with it for the kid's sake; in some cases, it led to their demise. She had gotten hints that Rob the Guard was a domestic abuser because he had criticised Stan for not having 'control' over his wife and the cruel way he had treated her.   
"Are you okay, Cass?" Meg said, knocking her out of her thoughts.   
Cass cleared her throat and nodded as she tried to focus on painting the wall. "Yeah just been thinking about... Woodlock said about going into hiding, I don't want to, but I'm not sure how it will work? How did you manage to keep away from him for so long?"   
"It was hard. I was always on the move, looking over my shoulder, panic attacks, nightmares, Jack was a great help with making me feel safe. I probably would not be alive if it weren't for him," Meg replied. "I was all on my own, the people who I thought were my friends had turned away from me... I tried to get Mel to leave to, but she would not listen. She wouldn't remember, but once Stefan used the imperious curse so he could... Do stuff with her."   
"You mean-" Cass looked at her with a concerned expression, her heart sunk when she had seen her nod. "Ah, now that's just-"   
"I know, trouble is he had poisoned her mind, made her just as twisted as he is," Meg replied. "She had been with a few of the guys. It never worked out... Either Eugene postpones your community service while you're in hiding or you stay off, I don't think your dad was able to sleep after everything you had told him about what went down between you and Pete. You were fortunate to have gotten away with a minor burn. It could have been a whole lot worse."   
Cass nodded. "I know it was scary when the sleeping dust failed... It seems like the Fire Stone repels certain kind of magic that puts it under threat like the spell Charlie had put him on, it had broken him out of it."   
"I guess it would have some protective charms to keep its host safe from harm, but if he had fallen into water it would be weakened," Meg said. "There are also other element stones such as water, air and earth. They were in different parts of the world if they came together... There would be trouble; all of them are dangerous in their own way."

  
There was a moment of silence as they sensed something else was coming up. Cass and Meg glanced through the window. The sky had suddenly darkened as though evening had moved forward. The temperature had dropped drastically.   
"Oh, no!" Meg gasped as her heart filled with dread, her face paled.   
"W-What is it?" Cass looked at her with worry.   
"I-I think the dementors are here," Meg replied.   
Cass narrowed her eyes, she had heard of some strange things, but what in the world was a dementor? It was surprising to see Varian was still out and about, should he not be on his way to the Dark Kingdom now? She could imagine Quirin's reaction when he learnt he had been tortured and pushed onto the ground. She gasped when she had seen a figure that floated in the air like a ghost and dawned a torn black cape appear behind him.   
"That's weird," Stan muttered.   
"What the heck is that thing?" Will gasped.   
"Varian!" Cassandra screamed as she rushed out, pulled the dagger from her boot. This creature had no flesh. It was skeletal. It had no feelings either all it did was suck away happy memories.   
It grabbed the poor lad by the throat and pinned him to the wall. His face became a blur; he was paralysed as it sucked away at his soul, not even Jack's angry growls and barks could scare the horrid creature away.   
"Cassandra!" Meg cried as another one swooped in and attacked her, she turned to the guards, but they did not have anything to fight them with.   
"Expecto patronum!" A voice bellowed, a large white and blue ghost horse charged ahead with a mighty kick had thrown dementors far away.   
Cass gasped as she felt like she had been pulled out of the water, she was very close to passing out again. She slowly sat herself up and looked at Varian who lay limply on the ground. "Varian!"   
He moaned and stirred, his eyes opened slightly, but he was too weak to get up.   
"The dementors have come out to look for The Shadow Man, trouble is they often get the wrong people, or these are strays," Woodlock said. "Have some chocolate, that will help," he handed a bit to Cass then turned to Stan. "I'm too old to carry a person, Stan can you help carry Varian to the castle?"   
Stan looked at Will, unsure if it would be okay to do so since this was his post.   
"Varian is Captain's friend. He will understand," Will replied.   
Stan knelt beside him and carefully picked him up. "It's done a number on him, do you think he will be okay?"   
Woodlock nodded. "Yeah, he will just need some medication, and he will be right as rain."   
"Huh?"   
"It's just a saying, he will be fine," Woodlock replied, he turned around and led the way.   
Cass breathed a heavy sigh as she put a hand over her face, it seemed to get worse every day.   
"Are you okay, Cass?" Meg asked as she put a hand on her shoulder.   
"I-I heard a woman screaming when that thing was hovering over me," Cass replied and glanced back at her.   
"I wasn't screaming... I-I couldn't even speak much; dementors have that effect on you, render you speechless... Drain out any happiness from you," Meg said and sighed. "Let's hope there aren't any more... Mustang should send them away." 

* * *

"Harry! This young lass has been hit with the cursed necklace!" Sam yelled as he rushed down the corridor carrying Faith in his arms.   
"I'll be right there!" Harry called out to him then turned to Catalina. "I'll get back to you in a bit, alright."   
Catalina nodded and watched as Sam gently laid Faith onto the bed.   
"What happened?"   
"She was given a package. She touched the necklace went up into the air moved about and fallen back down," Sam replied.   
Harry listened to her breathing. He cursed under his breath. She was only young; he had a hectic day. "Was it an opal necklace by any chance? The one that has already killed nineteen mug- non-magical people?"   
Sam nodded. "Yeah, it was an assassination attempt on Princess Rapunzel, well Queen at the moment, it's not looking good for her is it?"   
"No... It really isn't. Her heart rate is falling dangerously low" Harry said.   
"Wait? One of those snakes were trying to kill Rapunzel? Why?" Eugene cried.   
"Well, if she's gone Frederic would be without an heir, they have already got the king down, now are trying to take her," Sam said.   
"Now they are going to far. They can do whatever they like to Fred but keep my sunshine out of it!" Eugene cried.   
"Well, one of your guards did a good job at preventing the assassination," Sam said. "They had gotten very close."   
Eugene breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah, Joe is one of my best men... I can always count on him to look out for us, unlike some that I could mention."   
"I suppose I will have to find another handmaid," Nigel said as he looked on sadly at the young lady.   
"It's alright... I think I can save her," Harry sighed as he put a hand on her shoulder and closed his eyes for a moment. "Flower unleash Heaven's light, share your power with me, turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed. Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me."   
Beams of gold and ruby lights swirled around his arm and Faith's body. There was a moment of silence as the power set in.   
"Hmm," Faith stirred as she was brought back just as Death came to collect her soul. She slowly opened her eyes, and Harry was the first person she had seen. "W-What happened?"   
"You had been cursed, Miss, a deadly one at that... Fortunately, I have the power of the Phoenix, and there was enough to save you," Harry replied.   
Faith sat herself up and stared at him, fascinated "W-Who are you?"  
"Harry Woodlock," Harry put on a small smile. "Usually you would need six months to recover from the curse, but I think you could be better in a day or two the Phoenix Power has given you a boost."   
Faith sighed as she moved her hair back, that was scary; she could not understand what happened. She often found herself wondering, 'why me?' She heard one of the Serpents had impersonated her when she returned Catalina because she was a fugitive. Joe told her it was likely Mel, the one who turned herself into a cat to escape the dungeons. "Thank you."   
"You're welcome, do you feel any pain now?"   
"A bit of a headache, is that normal?" Faith replied as she put a hand on her forehead.   
Harry shook his head. "Nothing about this is normal, but I can give you a potion to help with the pain." He turned around and rummaged through his medical bag. He pulled out a lemon yellow coloured liquid. He poured a bit of it into a cup and handed it over to her. "Here you go, pet."   
Faith nodded and drank the potion; within minutes, her pain vanished.   
"Good to see your better Miss, don't worry we will get to the bottom of this," Sam said.   
"Thank you," Faith replied and nodded. She had rotten luck either she was impersonated or hurt in some way.   
Sam sighed as he watched his younger brother go back to the therapy he was doing with Catalina to try and help her regain more memories. He could only see it getting worse from now on. He could not handle it all on his own. "Where's Charlie?"   
"I don't know, he just went out to the bog but hasn't come back yet," Harry replied. "If you see him tell him to get his butt back here, we've got to check up on Varian after he had been hit with the cruciatus curse. I have given him pain killers earlier. Hopefully, it would have been enough to make it stop, but it can return with a vengeance."  
Sam nodded then turned and exited the infirmary, where he had seen one of his co-workers.   
"Hi, Marcus, what's up with you?"   
Marcus was quite tall, thin, short snow-white hair, icy blue eyes, light-skinned, oval clean-shaven face. He appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He put on a fake smile as he faced him. "Oh, nothing just checking on how he is doing, he's had it rough, the poor guy had been hit with the killing curse in the fight for the Phoenix Flower."   
Sam sighed and nodded. "Yeah, we almost lost him, have you seen Charlie about anywhere?"   
Marcus shook his head. "No, maybe he's gone off somewhere to get ingredients for potions."   
"I suppose so, he could have at least told Harry, he's going to be worn out treating all those people by himself... Take care alright, those Serpents are up to their old tricks again, picking on the non-magical folk," Sam said then brushed past him.   
The mask dropped. Marcus narrowed his eyes as he watched the older man leave. He hissed as he felt a stinging pain in his arm, he had a glance left and right then pulled his sleeve down to see the Serpent dark mark. He heard a bunch of footsteps further down the corridor, he drew his wand, in seconds he had vanished. 

"Harry, there has been a dementor attack!"   
Harry jumped then groaned as he saw his dad, a guard holding Varian, and a frightened man he supposed was his father. A woman whose face was half red, a man with wild black hair, blazing green eyes, black and green armour with many furs there was purple stripe on his nose. "Seriously? What are they doing here?"   
"Searching for The Shadow Man but you know how they are, when they see a troubled soul they can't resist!" Woodlock said.   
"Okay, ah... Just put him down here, I'll see what I can do," Harry said as he pointed to an empty bed.   
"What are dementors? What have they done to Varian?" Quirin cried.   
"They're nasty creatures. They suck the happiness out of anyone, they can make you completely numb, in worst cases kill you," Harry replied. "Varian was saved in good time so that he will pull through." He put a hand on his head and recited the incantation. 

"Flower unleash Heaven's light, share your power with me, turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed. Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me." 

In a few minutes Varian stirred again and slowly opened his eyes, he was disorientated and confused, how did he wind up here? Who was this guy? 

"Varian, are you okay?" Quirin whispered as he knelt beside him. "This man said you were attacked by... Dementors, what happened?" 

Varian did not reply right away, he was too shaken to think clearly, he shivered, and his eyes darted around, he still felt under threat. 

"Here, have this, it helps with the nerves," Harry said as he handed him a bit of chocolate. 

"T-Thanks," Varian whispered and taken it although he was still shaky, he had not felt this scared since the day of the blizzard and the amber incident. 

* * *

There was a large beacon stood before them consuming a pile of logs. There were scorch marks around the ground where he had thrown blasts of fire at random to practise his aim.  
"Good work, Peter... You'll soon be ready to face them again," Shadow said as he knelt beside him, he was on his knees and panting, he still was not over his drop in the river. The water had weakened the stone slightly, so it was hard to repel against powerful spells like Imperio and silent charms like the one Raven used. His mind was completely blank. His master had his undivided attention.   
"Give me your arm."   
Pete sat up and held up his right arm, he had no idea why, but at the same time, he did not care.   
Shadow pulled the glove down and pressed his wand against a vein. Two curvy black lines appeared which formed a pair of serpents kissing each other.   
"There now you have my mark just like the others," he whispered then pulled his wand back.   
Just before he had gotten himself up, there was a flash of white light, and Marcus appeared.   
"Ah, Marcus, good to see you... Did you take out the Sunshine Princess?"   
"Almost, dumb handmaiden touched the necklace herself but didn't worry I won't get caught, the blame would be put onto Charlie for giving it to her," Marcus replied then knelt beside Peter who was still staring into space. "Ah, this is the Dragon Warrior I heard so much about, what have you put him on this time? He looks completely out of it."  
Shadow smirked. "You should know you have used it yourself a few times... Alright Peter, let's give this another try, throw a flame there."   
Peter raised his arm, a flame flew across the ground and hit a tree which was followed by more. Eve who had the power of water and ice had put it out before it could have spread. She was a few years younger than him, pale, long, white hair tied back with a silver ribbon, icy blue eyes, she wore a light blue dress and had a sliver opal over her heart. "Nice shooting, Rex, so what are we going to do now?"   
"He was still weak from the incident last night. He needs to get over his guilt of hurting those people... Take some time to break his spirit, Mel won't be up for fighting for a while yet," Shadow replied. He turned back to Pete as he prepared to throw another flame. "Next time you feel like jumping off a bridge think about your kid and Mel, you can't just love her then leave her."   
"They have already used half of the Phoenix Flower. If we don't hurry then it will be all gone," Marcus said. "They used it on the muggle guard Stan, his wife and Woodlock's boy Harry."   
Shadow nodded. "I know, but another will appear... We will have another chance and this time no screw-ups."   
Marcus nodded. "Yes, master... I better return to the castle. I've got patrol this evening." He pointed his wand upwards and apparated back to New Corona.

* * *

Mel was left on her own in Pete's tent, the guilt of her part in his suffering was killing her, that was not the only thing as she laid down on the ground, she just had another episode of morning sickness, but this time she did not have him there to comfort her or anyone. Her world was falling apart, the people she had spent the past decade with thinking they were friends had turned against her, the one person she had come to care for was going to be taken away from her even if he had stopped trying to end his own life. 

_"If they get him, he will be strung up. You don't want that, do you?"_

She whimpered as she had awful visions of him being dragged down to the gallows never to be seen again as a rope would then be slipped around his neck. There was no way out of this. It was too late. It was all too late, she had done what Shadow wanted, raised him like a pig for slaughter, she put a hand over her womb, she had a lot of mixed feelings about going through with the pregnancy, but she could not bring herself to do what Ivy suggested. She no longer cared about blood types or thought of non-magical people as below them. She had fallen in love with Pete since... She could not exactly remember, but she still did. She wanted to do the right thing and let him go, but after Raven said it made her more conflicted. They were both trapped. She slapped herself in the face. "How could I have been so stupid? What did I expect to happen? That no one else would be affected? That it would just be a small fire and he could just pick it up and hand it to me?" 

She sighed as she stared off into space, Pete was at his worst, he was under Shadow's complete control even when he was not, he was so unstable he could not think clearly himself, she cursed under her breath, she wished she had let him return home when he realised his mistake of running away. "This is all my fault... I-It's my fault!" 

She grabbed her wand and pressed it against the Serpent tattoo. She regretted the day she had received it. "S-S-Spectrum... S-S-Sempra." Like a knife, the wand created a straight cut between the serpents. She hated it so much she could not bear to look at it anymore. 

"Ahh!" Mel cried as it stung hard, it hurt more than she expected, but she thought she deserved all of it for what she had put her partner through, someone she was supposed to treat with love and care not uses as a tool. She sat herself up and pulled a bandage from her rucksack. This was not the first time she had done this. She picked up a sanitizing lotion and bit her lip as it stung more than wrapped the bandage around the wound. She doubted anyone would notice or care how the wound had come about. She was completely on her own going through what would be the toughest time of her life, she had nowhere to go or anyone else to turn to for help if she so much as dared to show her face in public again the Royal dogs would pound on her or the Aurora would attack. She could not leave Peter with them. Shadow had already broken his spirit. It won't be long until he destroys him or someone else will. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Cass can't get any peace.  
> Let's hope Mustang catches the traitor Marcus!  
> Oh, Mel... Poor lass is heart broken.


	58. Haunted

Cass and Meg did get back to work eventually, after a hectic day of cursed necklace and dementors, they were glad to be done five hours later. 

"The dementors won't work, Stefan's soul is so messed up they won't want to touch him with a barge pole that or he does not have a soul for them to suck on," Meg said. 

Cass nodded. "Good point... I haven't even met him, but he sounds so demonic," her laughter faded as she thought of Pete. "He's turned someone as nice and soft as Pete into a vicious monster... He was unbelievable when we were fighting him... I still can't believe he had burnt my arm." 

"I can, Stefan likely drugged him before he went to make him extremely aggressive and reckless, for a month he's been shown a lot of toxic behaviour, you think he's bad now, he will be worse next time you see him," Meg said. 

"I was with Zhan-Tiri for almost a year but since the Phoenix Flower race is over and there's probably nothing left of it now what's the point of stringing him along now?" Cass asked. 

Meg sighed as she bowed her head. "It isn't... Another one will appear when the fire is completely out. There is still the other half of Corona that he could attack." 

Cassandra's eyes widened slightly. There was going to be another Phoenix Flower. She facepalmed if only she had known that earlier she could have avoided him entirely unless Shadow also wanted to build a collection of them, she could see her mother doing that with the Sundrop if she could. "Oh, that's... Fantastic, there's more."

"I would hope Eugene would be able to stop him from getting any, but it looks like we are going to have a bigger fight on our hands soon," Meg said.

"Maybe... I had hoped that Pete would return before things had gotten that far, but... He decided to go down the dark path, I mean yeah he was drugged and stuff, but he should still have a conscience, think what am I doing to these people? My home? I did... Before I visited Raps at the Goodwill festival which was a total disaster," Cass said.

"He might have tried, but Stefan would always be a step ahead, done something to stop him from leaving... The Hate Potion gives a person a huge mind fuck, it brings out the absolute worst in you, heavily distorts your perception on reality, you lose the ability to think critically or reason. There was no way out of this even if Pete stood down Shadow would have forced him anyway with the imperious curse," Meg said.

"I have seen that... He made his motivations clear, vengeance for his dad and something about his girlfriend but despite being drugged or whatever he will still get severely punished if they get him, he had gone with them to Amestria to take the Fire Stone and used it to destroy half of Corona," Cass said. "The rocks were bad enough, but fire is so much worse... Varian is moving to the Dark Kingdom soon. I'm pretty sure he is done with magic at this point not that I can blame him." 

"I know the feeling," Meg muttered then sighed, she was not sure if she was magical or not, but her experience with the Serpents had put her off it altogether. 

"When you go out for revenge, you end up digging two graves," Xavier said as he walked out of the shop. "It's a shame what has come of Peter. I can't see this ending well for him." 

Cass nodded, she knew that, one thing she had learned the hard way when she tried to get back at Rapunzel for supposedly taking her mom away not realising until later that she had gotten it the wrong way round. It was her mother that betrayed her that night. Raps were just as much of a victim as she was, Gothel did not care that Arianna had just been through traumatic labour to bring Rapunzel into the world safely, she just snatched her away right on the day she was born all for the Sun Drop's power to stay young and beautiful forever. This made her think of what Woodlock had said to her dad about his concern for Lily's and Stan's child being taken like Raps, would he go that far? Arianna had the whole flower; Stan had a petal, the baby just had a little bit of that passed on so she could not see how he or she could become like Rapunzel. Then again a single petal seemed very powerful on its own even to bring back the dead. She paused when she had seen Stan on the fountain looking deflated, she sighed, she wished there was a way to make his memory better, but nothing seemed to have worked. 

"How are you doing, Stan?" 

Stan looked back at her. "Oh... I'm okay... Meg, no C-Cat… Cass... Cassandra, just nervous, I guess... I have to show Cap that I am fit enough to work, I'm going to be a dad in four months, worried I won't be able to look after it properly, I have no idea how to raise kids."

"You're getting a bit better, I know some of the guys have been hard on you, don't let it get you down," Cass said. "It's okay to be nervous about having a child, I know I would be, but I'm sure you will make a good dad."

"It certainly isn't easy; kids do not come with a manual... It's going to be one heck of a journey, but it will be worth it when you see the fantastic person they have become." 

They turned around and were surprised to see David. He smiled warmly as he approached them. "It will be just fine, Stan,” he sat himself down beside him. “Lilian is further along than you thought.”

“Yeah… She hadn’t gotten far before, so it was confusing for her… It was close to becoming stillborn,” Stan replied. “Someone spiked her apple… I’m still about something going wrong, how am I going to raise him or her with the way my head is?” 

David sighed, he could understand how he felt, getting through the pregnancy was one thing, but the labour would be a whole other challenge, they had come close to losing Arianna on that unfortunate night all because of an infection. “I know, that was awful… I hope the birth will be successful… I was nervous when I had first adopted Cass. I had no experience with kids then it’s just something you learn as you go along, there will be times they make you worried sick but also lift your spirits, brighten your day like sunshine.”

Stan put on a small smile. “Thanks,” he sighed as he bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Damn I’ve forgotten your name to.”

“David, though you can call me Dave if you like now we’re friends,” David replied.

“Dave,” Stan muttered under his breath and repeated a couple more times to try and memorise it. “Dave, Dave.”

“I’m sure you will get there eventually, you’ve been through… Goodness knows what was in that potion,” David said and patted his shoulder. “We managed to get you back just in time.”

“Yeah… Thank you, Cass... I can’t believe you went through all that trouble for me,” Stan said.

Cass shrugged. “Normally, I wouldn’t, but we had become friends… You were the only one who was supportive of my ambition to be a Royal Guard even though it had not worked out like with your friend, Peter, which is unfortunate. He could have come back if he had not committed arson, and now he is suspected of having a part in another guard’s death.”

“Oh boy, he sounds like a nasty piece of work… That other guy got very angry when I got his name mixed up with his, I think I had heard of him before but of course-“ he swooshed a hand over his head and breathed out an exasperated sigh.

“Well, he wasn’t always like that… Until now, he was pleasant, albeit sometimes he had driven me nuts with his clumsiness, but he was decent and had a can-do attitude most of the time but… I don’t know, after the fight with Zhan Tiri something just snapped, it wasn’t entirely his fault, his drink was spiked with a dangerous potion that made him feel nothing but hate for everyone including you,” David said and sighed. “He had run away, I suppose at some point he had run into the potions dealer The Shadow Man, who is also a wizard then he had taken the Fire Stone from Amestria… He had burnt down half of Old Corona to create the Phoenix Flower.”

“He thinks the Kingdom is to blame for his dad’s unjust execution. The Shadow Man had erased his memories, so it probably seems more recent to him than it actually is but still… He has gone too far. He had even burnt my arm while we were fighting over the flower,” Cass added. 

Stan’s eyes widened slightly. He could not believe what he had just heard; it was horrific; he could not understand why he would do such a thing. “Oh geez, could he not see how much of an idiot he’s being? How could he think it’s right to make a whole group of people suffer for the actions of one person?”

“I really don’t know… I wished it didn’t come to this, but he just kept on digging that hole,” Cass said. “Like I did.”

“Yeah... I can't remember him at all. I can't see hardly anything up here. It's just like there's this fog... New Corona looks so different from what I had seen it feels like a decade ago," Stan said then sighed again. "Oh well, at least now I have the chance to make new memories with my wife and child." 

"I guess once a memory is gone... It's gone," Meg said. "The Aurora medic Harry is trying to do therapy with Catalina to improve her memory, whether it will work or not I don't know." 

Cass put on a small smile. "Anyway, I suppose you better get back to the castle... Eugene will be waiting for you. I hope you serve the matter of the cursed necklace soon... I know Charlie can be a jerk, but he would not try to kill the Princess in broad daylight, he was also under the imperious curse which means there is a traitor amongst them, none of our guards is magical at least as far as I know." 

"Oh... Yikes, that isn't very good... It's going to be hard to figure out who it was, but maybe their Captain can sort it out," Stan said then groaned as he felt a sharp pain in his head, he pressed a hand over his forehead. 

"Stan, are you okay?" Cass said as she moved closer to him, it worried her how there was still some damage to his brain, lost those memories and was getting headaches, looked drained, and was having a hard time adjusting after being out of it for so long. She supposed he would still be sore from oversleeping while he was sick. 

"Y-Yeah, I'll be alright... I just got a few more hours to go then I'll be done for the day and stay safe... Cass, especially with those people around," Stan replied, he stood himself up and started to walk away. "Good evening... See you in the morning." 

Cass nodded. "Okay, take care of yourself to... If the headaches get worse or don't stop after a few days get some help, I don't know what they will be able to do, but hopefully, it will get better." 

"Yeah, I'll do that... Thanks," Stan replied, his voice was quieter than usual, he looked drained, he was going to find it hard to get through the next few hours. 

Cass sighed as she watched him go, he looked like a lost soul, part of him was still dead although he could not remember him anymore she could see that it was because Pete was missing from his life, Pete would not remember him either, that was one of the saddest things she had seen. Those two had always been so close like herself and Raps now it was as though they had never met in the first place if Stan had regained all of his memories he would have been devastated to hear what kind of person his ‘little brother’ had become, that him being on The Royal Guard had not worked out, there was no chance of him getting back into it. She glanced at her dad; he seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Poor guy, he’s still feeling low but knowing him he will push himself hard to make up for a lost time, it will be hard for him to guard not knowing who is who but I suppose there’s a bit of hope for him yet,” David said then turned to Cass. “I’ve heard some magical monsters were roaming around… Did you see them?”

“Yeah, I did… Woodlock said they were dementors sent to find The Shadow Man, why they came after me and Varian I don’t know,” Cass said.

“Problem is they don’t want Stefan or his mates,” Meg said.

“Can’t say I blame them, you didn’t get hurt did you, Cass?” David asked.

“One of them did attack me, but I didn’t get too badly hurt, Varian, however, became numb, Stan had to help Woodlock get him to the castle,” Cass replied.

“How did you get rid of them?” David asked.

“Woodlock hit them with a ghost horse,” Cass said.

“A Patronus charm,” Meg said as she bent down to stroke Jack. “It comes up as an animal, powered by a memory. Harry will take care of him, though.”

David nodded. “How are you feeling after fighting… Peter?”

Cass sighed. “I might have more nightmares… I never thought I would see him being that frightening, he looked so out of it he probably would have hurt me more if Charlie had not stopped him, I suppose the Fire Stone protects him from most substances… It’s going to be hard to take him down.”

David breathed out a heavy sigh and frowned, he was distraught that he had sunk so low to hurt a younger woman like that, this was not the decent, light-hearted and bubbly guy that he had come to know over the last decade, sure there were times he had made him tempted to bang his head on a wall, but he still trusted him when it mattered. To say he felt let down seemed like an understatement, he was not really sure how to describe it. He supposed that if the Aurora did catch him, it would be off to Wizarding Prison with the rest of the Serpents. He wished he had just come to his senses and returned home earlier, not get involved with dark witches and wizards, Eugene and Rapunzel could have helped clear his name over the murder of Daniel, but now he is said to have a part in Bob’s death that would be much harder. Eugene had lost all sympathy that he had for him not that he could blame him.

Meg was on high alert, even though she knew they were out of the country, one of them could always apparate and return, she glanced at Cass, she seemed to be the same, she paused when she came across another Wanted poster for Pete.

“He could have had such a good life, but now he’s taken the dark path… He will lose it either at Eugene’s hands or Shadow’s,” Cass said with a heavy sigh. “He had fallen into the trap of self-fulfilling prophecy; people said he was a bad person, a killer, so he thought there was no point in trying to make up with us.”

Meg nodded. “That’s like Mel; she thought if people were going to see witches as wicked and evil, there was no point in trying to be nice to them… She didn’t realise the harm she was causing living up to that stereotype.”

"Hmm, I'm not sure about Mel, but I sympathise with that," Cass replied, she had some mixed messages about her, one hand she was 'wicked' with the way she handled Pete, manipulating him into falling for her but on the other was abused by Shadow to, she did not realise it because her memory was messed up. She shook her head. She just wanted to have her supper then get some sleep which she hoped would be nightmare free or dreamless. Sleep was more peaceful when her mind was blank.

None of them noticed the slithering snake, Marcus, nearby, he watched the three of them like a hawk and slyly followed from several paces behind, Shadow might be interested in learning where his little ‘Nutmeg’ was hiding and the woman who had defeated Pete, the same one who had taken down the ancient demon Zhan Tiri.

* * *

Late into the evening, Harry was in his room trying to work out the scroll written in a language he was not familiar with, the characters were written with brushstroke lines there he sighed as he flipped over another page. The scrolls had illustrations of flames, the other a phoenix bird soaring into the sky, he also had some with other elements such as earth, water and air. “What does it mean? Rammstein? What does it mean?” He narrowed his eyes as he looked back at the old scroll. Magic was a strange thing, not even wizards and witches could completely understand it, there was a lot of good in it and a terrible danger with people like The Serpents who weaponised it. He yawned, he was exhausted, he had been treating people for memory loss, curses and dementor attacks, there was a panic that the King was going to die, he had tried to heal him, but his power was not enough, he guessed it was starting to wear out after he had used it on a few people already. There was another thing that weighed heavily on his mind. “Damn it, Charlie, where the hell are you?” 

He carried on working for a few hours then dozed off as his battery had run flat, he slept through the whole night with his head on the book and the quill lying in his limp hand until the morning. The man snapped awake at the sound of a bang, he jumped up and rushed outside, he had seen The Shadow Man with his father. 

“Avarda Kedavra!”

“Harold!” His father screamed as he threw himself over him just in time, there was a flash of green light, and in seconds he collapsed.

“Dad!” Harry screamed, he lifted himself back up from his knees and seen Shadow was still there, he moved closer to him with his wand out. He looked genuine but soon realised he was a fake, a boggart, he grabbed his wand and aimed it back at him. “Poppycock!”

Shadow turned into the mime guy from The Snuggly Duckling, doing a random routine for a few minutes then disappeared, Harry breathed a heavy sigh then returned to his desk. “Great... First, we get attacked by dementors, and now we’ve got boggarts.”

* * *

Cass had hoped that once she had faced Pete, the nightmares would stop, but he continued to haunt her dreams, she twisted and turned, she gripped onto her sheet hard, she felt the boiling heat on her skin as though she were there in real life.

_She had frozen up again as he emerged from the darkness between a pair of trees as the fire greedily consumed them, it looked like they were going to fall any minute. She shoved the flower into her bag, pulled a dagger from her boot and pointed it at him._

_"Hand it over!” He shouted as he stared her down, his eyes looked dead, heartless, half of his face had turned red with a nasty rash as the powers irritated his usually pale skin, he snarled baring his teeth which creeped her out more than she expected. She never thought there would be a day when she was scared of him, although she tried her best not to show it._

_"No, you are just going to abuse it!" Cass snapped. "Take it from me being the villain is not the way to go!"_

_“Ah yeah, I’m the bad guy now… Do you know why that is?” Pete said with a growl. He bared his teeth like a wild animal which creeped Cass out more than she would like to admit._

_"Well, doing all this does not make you any better than those who have hurt you... Not that you can remember anyway," Cass said. "You will stoop down to Shadow's level and then find you are left with nothing left to lose."_

_"I'm not the villain, your precious King is and the other Captain," Pete said as he moved closer to her. "They wrongfully convicted my father and executed him. Now they are trying to do the same to me... It's not enough, and it will never be enough until you have endured the amount of pain and agony I have!"_

_"Pete, come on... I bet half of the things you have been told aren't even true, and most people had nothing to do... With whatever happened to you," Varian said._

_“My dad was not even Captain when your dad was there. You don’t even know how old you are doing you?” Cass said as she dared to go closer to him._

_"Shut up!" Pete yelled flames burst from his hand, they had a clear look at his face, the rash had spread halfway on his face, and his eyes were bloodshot._

_"That's not true, your father... Had taken his own life, yeah that guy has been telling you lies!" Cass said. "He's been playing you for a sap!"_

_"No, he's the only one who hasn't! He had shown me everything!" He shouted as he stared at her._

_"The same thing happened to me with a demon... She recreated painful childhood experiences of mine. She had taken everything out of context so I would stay on her side, given me the motivation to fight against everyone, to destroy Corona just like Shadow is doing with you!" Cassandra said. "This has to stop... Now!"_

_Pete growled as he moved closer to her and Varian, more large flames appeared trapping both her and Varian with him, she had no idea where Charlie had gone. I t had all gone horribly wrong. His water gun had been destroyed, none of his alchemy bombs worked on him, not even the pink goo as it melted in the fire. _

“No! Don’t come any closer! No!” Cass cried as he moved towards her, flames erupted in his hand, there was heartless a look in his eyes, but before she had a chance to move she was hit with severe, sharp pain, she crumpled in agony, did he have any idea how much it hurt to be burned? Why the heck would someone willingly turn themselves into a human candlestick? Her screams continued as in this nightmare. He did not just hit her arm; it was all over. "AAHHH!" 

Owl raised and hooted, unsure what was scaring his human friend or what to do to help her. He hoped his voice would be enough to wake her up. 

_ "Perfiticus totalus!" A voice called out, in an instant both her and Varian were frozen stiff, the had fallen onto  _

_ The moment she was released, she collapsed onto the ground unable to move a muscle, her bag and dagger were snatched away from her then both her and Varian were tied to a tree.  _

_ "Just in case you get any ideas about following us or bringing the dogs over," Pete hissed then walked away, he turned around only to block the path with large flames.  "Now, I have nothing left... To lose," he had the same cold, expression she had as he held the broken flower and the loose petal in his hand.  _

In minutes David had burst into the room, he thought she was attacked by the dementors again or something. Still, instead, she was being tormented by the demon his former co-worker had become, Megan appeared by his side, they exchanged concerned glances as she continued to scream so lost in it. 

"She's having night terrors... I had a feeling this would happen if she faced Pete, she's traumatised," Meg said as she knelt beside him.

David breathed a heavy sigh, the level of rage he had for Pete raised, but he kept calm for Cassandra's sake, he reached out for her hand and gently held it. "Cassandra, Cassandra, it's okay... You're safe in my home." 

Cassandra panted as she soon came out of her nightmare, she stared at her dad with wide eyes. "D-Dad... I-I... P-Pete-" 

David and Meg looked at Cass with more concern as she became unable to string a sentence together. 

"It's okay, Cass... You had been through a terrible time,” Meg said as she gently rubbed her shoulder. “Were you fighting Pete again?”

Cass shakily nodded. “Y-Yeah… He burnt me worse like all over.”

“Oh, Honey,” David said in a hushed voice as he pulled her into a hug. “Don’t worry. I will not let him hurt you again.”

Cass sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. “Thanks, Dad but I don’t want you to get hurt either… I used to have nightmares about him killing you, the strange thing is… He-He doesn’t look like a human anymore. It’s like the Fire Stone is turning him into a demon.”

David sighed. “I wish he had never taken the blasted thing, I’ve had it up to here with enchanted stones and well magic in general… I have faith that things will work out in the end.”

Cass moved back and bowed her head, to be honest, she never cared about Pete before this; they were not even friends, just co-workers. Still, it surprisingly saddened her to think what was likely to come of him, she would have tried to defend his innocence for the murder, stopped Frederic from unfairly sending him away to the asylum, but now there was nothing she could do to help him. She sighed as she facepalmed, he had played right into Frederic’s hands now he is the ‘madman’ he and a few other people have made him out to be. She stood up and moved to the window. She had a feeling the quiet was not going to last; there was always something. One reason why New Corona was described to be ‘the city that never sleeps’ no matter how much she tried, she could not stop thinking about him, what was he up to? When will he return? What will he do next?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, I hope you had a great New Year! It had taken me a while to think of what to do next and got busy with work. 
> 
> I have also started a short fanfic about how I imagine Stan and Pete became friends and he helped Pete get onto the guard called Unbroken.


	59. Darkness Falls Over Corona

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pete is still a mindless zombie, New Corona has a Boggart infestation.  
> Cass still can’t get her mind off, Pete!  
> Another murder! 😱  
> Varian recovering from the dementor attack has a flashback of his prison time.

Lance showed Catalina around the town to try and refresh her memory of her home. They had just stopped by the local sweet shop for some treats. 

“Have a nice day!” Monty said cheerfully as they left. 

“Haha, thanks, Monty!” Lance said and strolled further down the street putting on a big smile despite the heartache; Catalina did not even remember who she was, despite Harry’s best efforts he could not regain her all of her memories with an experimental counter charm but on the plus side her short term memory still worked, well, better than Stan’s anyway so she could get to know everyone again. He sighed as he watched her walk alongside her sister, looking at her surroundings in wonder and licked her lollipop. 

“He’s usually grumpy, but he’s okay sometimes, that big old guy there is Xavier, he’s the blacksmith, the ginger nut is Felspar he makes shoes sometimes plays which are kind of meh,” Keira said. “That is the guard’s horse Max… Oh, Dwayne’s out of the dungeons now.” 

Catalina dropped her lolly, she became stunned, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped slightly, she had seen the red demon. 

“What’s  wrong Cat?” Lance said in a quiet voice as he knelt beside her, this was very unlike her as she shifted closer to her adoptive father and clung to his sleeve, which was worrying for him and her sister. 

“Wait… Who is that?” Keira asked as she looked down the path, she had seen a man with bright red hair, crimson eyes, black outfit and scarlet opal over the heart, the face despite the damage was strangely familiar to her. “Oh gosh, that’s Pete!” 

Lance narrowed his eyes and drew his sword, he moved forward, ready to fight hard to protect his little girls and Corona. “Oh, now you have come to take down the other half of the Kingdom, huh? Well, it won’t work this time, I’m going to whoop your ass then drag you by the ear to Eugene’s office, you’re in a load of trouble now Spotty!” 

Pete did not reply as he moved closer to them; the fire had grown from his hands and viciously snarled. 

“Why are you attacking us? What the hell is wrong with you?” Keira cried, she never thought he would be the one to scare her, he was the ‘Goofy Guard’ he was more childish than her at times like the hissy fit about being separated from Stan for a day and other times he had silly squabbles with his mate. 

Lance yelled as he charged towards him, but before he had a chance to hit him, Harry jumped in. “Poppycocks!” 

The fake Pete had frozen then turned into a bunny rabbit, he twitched his little nose then hopped away. 

“Sorry about that… Somehow magical beasts are getting over here, don’t worry we’ll handle it,” Harry said. “I got rid of the dementors after treating Varian… They had gotten off track.” 

“Oh, okay... Thanks, ” Lance replied then breathed a heavy sigh. It looked like the red rock thing all over again. 

Max neighed as another thief rushed past, he ran stopped when he had seen the demon form of Zhan Tiri, he reared and neighed louder. 

Stan got up in front of him and held a hand out; surprisingly, he was utterly unfazed by the monster baffling to the stallion. “Woah there… Easy boy, there’s nothing to be afraid of, easy.” 

Max got back down, but he still looked spooked by the strange creature. 

“Poppycock!” Sam called out as he pointed his wand at the fake Zhan Tiri, which turned her into a harmless little chicken. 

“What was that?” Stan said as he patted Max’s neck gently to comfort him. 

“A boggart, they’re ghost-like creatures who take the form of something you are most afraid of, they just won’t work with me anymore since I’ve been dealing with them for many years,” Sam replied. “It used to show me my sister turning evil or well… Dead,” he breathed a heavy sigh and glanced further up the street, he had a distraught look on his face. 

“Oh… I’m sorry for your loss,” Stan said, he had gotten distracted with Max and the magical guard he had forgotten about Dwayne. 

“Stop! Thief!” An older woman cried out at him as he ran off with her purse. 

Cass paused, it was just like the day she had found out about The Challenge of The Brave, she had the chance to prove herself as a ‘good guy,’ she moved her hood down and went to catch him, but just as she had taken a step forward Josh had beaten her to it, he had seen the guy without even looking at him. 

“Stay back! We’ll handle it.” 

Cass stared back at him; those were the same words Pete had said to her that, unlike Stan, he did not support her aspirations to be a guard, she was not tough or strong enough to handle him. She had not realised it until recently, but even before the whole ‘Hate Potion’ thing he was not always the softie he appeared to be, maybe his time on the guard had hardened him in the wrong way, after being bullied so many times his heart had become frozen. When she was a mere handmaiden she was below him, like most of the guys on the squad did not believe she would ever get on the guard, for one thing, a guard was a man’s job’ hence the term ‘guardsman’ they had never heard of a ‘guardswoman.’ The ladies were maids who did the washing, cleaning and cooking, her career was to keep the Princess happy, do her hair, makeup, fix her dresses if need be. Surprisingly Stan was the only one who was forward-thinking, ahead of the time aside from her dad. She felt Meg’s comforting hand on her shoulder, with a heavy heart, she walked away with her. 

“Ah, come on, Pete! You know how it is, you were homeless yourself years ago, I need to steal to survive!” Dwayne whined as the purse was snatched away from him and passed it to another guard to return the item. 

“For the love of all things holy, I am not Pete!” Josh shouted out as he dragged the guy to the wagon. “I am sick to death of being mistaken for that guy; I hate his damn guts!” 

“Oh… Pete was the guy that caught me last time, and you look just like him, I guess you get that a lot don’t you being his doppelgänger?” Dwayne asked. 

“Shut up and get in the wagon,” Josh muttered as Will opened the door for him, he had breathed out a heavy sigh as he shoved him in. “Alright, ready to go, Greg!” 

Dwayne pouted as he was taken away, his freedom only lasted a week. Josh’s words stung like a scorpion’s tail though he supposed he should be used to it by now. 

Cass dragged her feet to the next shop she was due to do her decorating community service further down the street with Stan and Will close behind her when she arrived, she was surprised to see the alleyway beside the shop was corned off. “What’s going on?” 

“It’s uh... One of the magical guards was uh found dead this morning,” Stan said. “We can’t tell how it happened, there was not any stab wounds or anything, but on the other hand, he might have… Killed himself.” 

Cassandra gasped, this was the third time somebody took an innocent life, she did not try to look even though she was curious who the victim was, she had seen a pair of the Aurora use a borrowed stretcher to carry the man out, he had a white blanket over him just like the undertakers had done with Stan so he could have a bit of dignity and not alarm those that passed by. She was about the enter the shop but then paused again when she had seen Sam and Harry run down, her heart sunk as judging by the alarmed and heartbroken looks on their faces the victim was either their dad or brother, she did not know how many kids Woodlock had taken in, but her mind went straight to Charlie. To her surprise she had seen the man rush down, so that left it to the latter, she felt her heartache as the three of them gathered, their colleagues reluctantly lowered the stretcher and pulled back the blanket, the victim was indeed Charlie. 

Sam had broken into tears from shock. He pulled his younger brother into a tight bear hug. Woodlock knelt on the other side of his middle child’s body as Harry had fallen onto his knees, sure they had not always seen ‘eye to eye’ at times. He still loved him, they had only just started to reconnect, and now he was taken away from him forever. Harry bowed his head as he wept loudly. 

Woodlock remained silent as tears streamed down his face, he stroked his deceased son’s hair something he had not done for a long time, there were no words that could describe a mother’s or father’s tears or that could heal a broken heart either. 

Cass breathed out a heavy sigh; she felt awful for them even though she and Charlie had not gotten along very well at first. Still, he did not deserve to die; it pained her to see the devastation it left on his family; she could only imagine how to hurt Woodlock was now he had lost another child. 

“Things are getting way too dangerous… We will have to sort something out with Eugene; it could very well be you next,” Meg said. “This is The Serpent’s doing.” 

The look on Cassandra’s face hardened. “No, I won’t run away from this… I’m not going to let Stefan, Pete or any of them have the satisfaction they are scaring me! Running away is what Old Freddy does, there’s only one way out, and that’s through it!” 

Will nodded. “Yep, I never thought I would say this, but Pete is going to be the biggest challenge this kingdom has ever faced.” 

Stan raised an eyebrow as he glanced at his new friend. “Really?”

“Oh yeah… On the plus side, we’ve had quite a bit of practice dealing with unusual, extreme attacks,” Will replied and chuckled under his breath. “Giant raccoon, robots, magical rocks, a ram, squid demon… I had thought I had seen it all during my time on the guard, but wow! The things that had been going on these past two years are unbelievable!” 

Stan narrowed his eyes as he looked baffled at the older man; he could not make any sense of what he had just said. “Are you alright, Will?”

Will sighed; he just realised he no longer remembered those events. “I’ll explain inside.” 

Cass had taken one last glance at the Woodlock family before she got to work. 

“Cass, I love your courageous spirit, but you cannot go against Pete again, he will be much worse next time even if you don’t see him you could be hurt by one of the other Serpents or worst still killed!” Meg said. “They might think you still have the Phoenix Flower and destroy you… One of them would have tried to get answers from Charlie, but since he was not any help, they killed him!” 

Cass sighed. “Meg, calm down… I will not run away, that will be giving them the upper hand!” 

“At least you would be alive, I was too weak to fight so my only choice was to run away from Stefan! Listen, Cass, those people could kill you in seconds with two words and a flick of their wand!” Meg said. 

Cass groaned as she put a hand over her face. “Meg, please calm down… I won’t be on my own; there will be Eugene, Raps, other people.” 

“It will be a blood bath, you got lucky last time with the hybrid stone it won’t work that way with fire and the Phoenix, they are separate things… The death toll could be huge; his father ruined Amestria, it's a frickin shambles now! He will do the same to Corona!” Meg cried. 

Cass turned, it saddened her to see the terror on her face, she reached out to her; she was even crying. “Meg, Meg, it’s going to be alright… We will get through this, trust me.” 

Meg whimpered a little bit then jumped, her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped as she had seen her ex-boyfriend at the window. 

“Oh, Megan, it’s alright… It’s not real, it’s just an illusion,” Will said. 

“H-How do you know that?” Meg cried as she moved back, her heart pounded as he moved closer, he was going to enter the shop, and she did not have anything to use in a fight. 

“It’s alright... Miss, we’ll handle it,” Stan said as he moved in front of them, he charged ahead not caring if this was the real guy or not. He opened the door and went to grab his arm; strangely, the boggart did not chance into his fear as since he could hardly remember anything nothing seemed to scare him. He was sure this was a fake as the real one would have attacked, he glanced to the side and seen Marcus come their way. “Nice try, but you’re not going anywhere.” 

“Poppycock!” Marcus called out as he aimed his wand at the fake Shadow which turned into a clown and did a little jig then disappeared.

Stan sighed; he was too hard for the creature to read since he had not been feeling anything for a while. Probably why a dementor had not attacked him either, he did not know why that was, at first he thought maybe it was nerves about his job or the prospect of being a father, but that was not it. He shook his head and glanced back at the Aurora soldier. “Thanks, that thing was scaring the lady.” 

Marcus had put on a fake smile. “No problem... Although that was not the last of them, it will be hard for you muggles to defend yourself against these creatures, you made such easy prey for the dementors.” 

Stan stared at him for a moment; he did not know how to respond to that; he sounded quite creepy. He kept quiet and returned to his post.

Cass picked up her brush and got to work; this reminded her of the time, red rocks had spread throughout the kingdom, showing everyone their worst fear. “What are those things?” 

Meg sighed as she started to paint. “Boggarts... While most people see trivial phobias like spiders, what I see is the person who abused me.” 

Cass nodded. "I can understand that even though you had fought him you still fear him." 

“That was a heat of the moment... I did not realise until after who he was; I had the advantage of the darkness and him being on his own if I tried again... I might not be so lucky,” Meg replied. 

Cass sighed; she laid her brush down and touched her shoulder. "You will always feel the trauma... There is still a part of me that fears Pete, the night before the fight over the Phoenix Flower, I had seen Corona destroyed, there was fire everywhere, and I had seen Pete getting close to me it looked like he was going to kill me.” 

Meg nodded. “I can see why you think that... I guess we all have things that scare us.” 

Cass did not reply; she did not know what to say; she was still shocked; before all this, she had never been on his wrong side. Maybe there were times he wanted to lash out at her but could not since she was the boss’ daughter. She wondered what Pete was like when Varian was in the dungeons? Was he as mean and harsh as he was with her or more passive-aggressive? 

* * *

It seemed quiet in the castle, at least from where Varian was, everywhere else it was chaos. Queen Rapunzel had become overwhelmed with it all; she had not even fully recovered from the Old Corona battle; she had many people to rehouse as half of the Kingdom had been destroyed. Her father had become terminally ill with a curse that not even Harry could heal with his share of the Phoenix power. To top it all off, she had just been a victim of an assassination attempt, so she was stuck inside of the castle. Varian sighed as he looked through the window, he was overwhelmed to like Cass he had nightmares of that day when they faced Pete. He rammed his brain to think of ideas on how to take him and the rest of them down, most of all The Shadow Man. He planned to see Rapunzel and Eugene later develop some strategy to prevent a disaster like The Goodwill festival. 

“How are you doing, Varian?” 

He blinked and turned around; he had seen Harry again, but he looked more stressed out than usual. It appeared he had been crying a lot to. “Oh... I’m feeling better now since I had your potion and some more chocolate. Are you alright, Harry?” 

The older man breathed out a heavy sigh and sat on the bed opposite him. “Not exactly... Charlie had gone missing yesterday; the guys had found his body this morning... Mustang said he had likely hit himself with the killing curse, one of the guys found a note in his pocket.” 

Varian was about to speak but found himself lost for words suicide was devastating to all involved; he remembered Charlie saying that he did not think he had anything to live for. “I’m so sorry... Harry.” 

“Thank you... I did not see it coming; I don't understand why he would have done that. Dad is heartbroken; it's bad enough he had lost Melanie to Shadow now another child of his is gone,” Harry replied. “Mustang suggested that Sam and I take compassionate leave, but I’m the sort that just wants to get on with stuff.” 

Varian nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean, I had lost a very special friend to me last month... He had sacrificed himself when Pete was about to kill me before he turned officially evil; he was mind-controlled. I couldn't even go into my lab for weeks because I just missed him so much, I tried to take my mind off it by helping out with the clean up in the city which had not worked as well as I had thought.” 

“I am sorry that he had put you through that, I hope this will not last long, take care on your journey to your hideout, they could be anywhere,” Harry replied. He had breathed out another sigh as he stood himself up and glanced through the window. 

Varian huffed as he crossed his arms, he did not want to go, he wanted to stay in Corona to fight again. Defend the non-magical community and New Corona like Cass he did not want them to think they had gotten to him. He had thought back on some of the times he was alone with Pete when the goofy guard mask had dropped. 

_ “I hate you!” Varian yelled as he clung tightly on the bars.  _

_ The expression on Pete’s face hardened as he looked at him with a cold glare. “I know... The feeling is mutual since you had drugged me with some kind of serum! Embarrassed me in front of everyone, I could have been fired!” _

_ “You were the one dumb enough to take something from a random person in a bush, none of the other guards did... You had chucked me out in the snow like garbage!” Varian snapped. “You’re so fake, you go around acting like a super nice guy, but you’re not! You’re mean and cruel! Do you get some kind of kick from seeing people suffer? Overpower someone smaller than you like some of the guys do to you? What the hell is wrong with you?”  _

_ Pete cursed under his breath and rolled his eyes; he was tempted to strangle the pipsqueak, but it would not be worth the trouble. “Yeah, yeah... I’m a dick, asshole, whatever I’ve heard it all before, I don't care what you think about me so shut up and get to sleep. I’ll be back in five so no funny business!”  _

_ “Have you been at the pot again, Spotty?” Andrew teased as he passed by him.  _

_ “Shut up,” Pete growled as he shot him a glare. _

Varian sighed as he bowed his head; he could not believe how someone who had been through what he supposedly had could be like that. A shallow laugh came out of him as he thought of the duo, he would have expected Stan to be the harder one being the big guy, but he was a pussy cat compared to Pete. He was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw his dad enter the room, he did not have much baggage, hardly had the chance to pack, but he was a minimalist anyway. He had taken a deep breath and stood up.

"Dad, I don't want to run away, this will give them the satisfaction that they are scaring us!" Varian said. 

"Well, they will soon have those wicked grins wiped off their faces... I could have lost you that day you went after that damn flower, those people are dangerous, they could have killed you in a second!" Quirin exclaimed. "They will likely attack again, and I don't want you to get tangled up in that." 

"I'll be fine dad, beating Pete wasn't so hard," Varian said. 

Quirin paused and looked at him with a deadpanned expression. "He had attacked you, not even your sleep potion worked, if that wizard was not there goodness knows what he would have done to you, he had let someone torture you, they had even broken your machine with just a flick of their wand if the other wizard was not there they probably would have killed you!" 

"Dad, I am capable of defending myself... I can make better weapons, stronger elements, learn more about The Serpents so I can be better prepared for their next attack!" Varian said. 

"I know you can, normally but I would rather not take that risk... If they have not shown up in three months, we can return to Corona," Quirin said. 

"Fine... Although if our experience with Zhan Tiri is anything to go by, it will be longer than three months, maybe a year... He could use Pete like a Phoenix Flower maker, go to another land, burn it down get a flower, might find it handy having a human weapon like him around," Varian replied as he crossed his arms. He picked up his rucksack and stick, then reluctantly followed his dad to the entrance of the castle. 

"Oh, so you're off then hiding is not easy, I wish you luck." 

Varian turned and narrowed his eyes as he had seen Marcus, he was not sure why but something just seemed off with this wizard, sure Charlie was a jerk, but there was just something sinister about this guy. After the incident with Andrew and his gang, he had developed a radar for detecting bad people. "Yeah, not that it's any of your business." 

Marcus had put on a fake smile and put his hands up. "Hey, I didn't mean anything by it, just wishing you well." 

"Well, thank you, sir... Hopefully, The Serpents and Peter will be gone soon," Quirin said. "He has lost my sympathy after what he had put my son through!" 

Marcus nodded. "I understand... You will need to watch your back. The Serpents are very sneaky and creepy, would you like some help to protect you on the way?" 

"Thanks but no thanks... We will be just fine on our own," Varian interjected as he had put himself between them and glared at the shifty wizard, he had it up to his forehead with magic although he knew they were not all bad, he could only trust this guy as far as he could throw him and that was not very far. 

Quirin nodded then turned around and exited the room, they met Edmund and Hector outside, they were going to be their back up in case they ran into trouble on the way. 

"The Dark Kingdom isn't yet in shape, but it could be a good home for you, Varian," Edmund said, he still had the habit of speaking his thoughts out loud. 

Varian breathed out a heavy sigh and brushed past him, he had taken a glance over his shoulder to make sure they were not being followed, or that creepy wizard was within earshot, he did not see him so assumed he had apparated somewhere, which was a relief. He did not know why, but he had a sneaking suspicion that he was not the kind of person he portrayed himself to be, perhaps a Serpent himself. He turned around again, surprised to see Rapunzel and Eugene.   


“I am so sorry about all of this, Varian, I will miss you so much!” Rapunzel said as she hugged him. “You have done so well with helping us deal with this new threat, but your safety is the priority... I admire you for your bravery, but maybe we should leave The Serpents to the professionals.” 

Varian sighed, he had, and one of them had lost an eye, two were killed, neither of them could handle this problem on their own. “We need our communities to work together on this, Rapunzel, I know you excel at bringing people together. I hear you are going to be officially Queen pretty soon.”   
Rapunzel nodded, her smile faded as her nerves had grown stronger. “Y-Yeah my father is going to abdicate the throne since the curse is so deadly... Harry estimates he will make it one more year, it is incurable with anything else apart from the Phoenix flower, but it’s gone now.”   
“Oh,” Varian said, although he was not the slightest bit fond of His Royal Highness he could still see where Rapunzel was coming from. It was a big shock, she thought she would be in charge for a day or two, but this time, it would be for real. “I hope your coronation goes well this time if I miss it.”   
Rapunzel sighed. “Yeah, the last thing I need is for another ambush of a criminal gang... I’m still shocked by Pete. I don’t even know who he is anymore.”   
“I don’t think any of us do; maybe he was not the kind of guy we thought he was,” Eugene interjected as he stepped forward. He put on a smile and put a hand on his shoulder. “Take care of yourself, Varian, I would hate for anything to happen to you or your dad... Especially after the last time you were both hurt, once it is safe, I will borrow Mustang’s owl to give you my letter.”   
Varian nodded. “Yeah, Cass was a bit confused whether it was just the potion or not but I think there’s a whole lot more to it than that. It’s just made him worse, but you two should be careful, we have no idea what they are planning or just what he is capable of.”   
“Don’t worry. We will... Also once the fire has died out work can start to rebuild the Old Corona village,” Eugene said.   
“Great, good luck with that... Let’s hope it does not literally go up in smoke again,” Varian said then fist-pumped with the guy who once upon a time was his idol. They shared a laugh then he turned and hopped onto the new cart with his dad pulled by a brown horse and followed his uncles out of the Kingdom; he expected Hector to get some funny looks as he rode on top of a rhino, a creature most was unfamiliar with. He sighed again then looked on at the road ahead. He wondered if Corona would still be standing when they returned. He would be shocked after everything they had been through in this place. 

* * *

There was a single ordinary pink flower on top of the rock but was destroyed in seconds by a blast of flames. The blaze had rapidly spread out in just A few minutes. He was growing stronger. It was easy now that he did not have something as bothersome as guilt and sadness get in the way. Eve had knocked part of it down with blasts of water. It seemed like a good idea to get those who possessed the other element powers to get used to working with the one who carried the Fire Stone. Another week had passed. Pete was still stuck in the trap of the imperious curse. One thing that was very difficult to prove, and even if he were under its influence on the day of the fire, he would still be in bother for taking the stone in the first place. He probably would not have gone as far as he had if Shadow had not drugged him with the Hate Potion which made him much crueller and dare say, evil like himself.

“Okay, that works... What are you going to do when it wears off?” Raven said as he watched from behind with his arms crossed.

“It’s fine, there is no set time limit on the Imperious curse, by the time it does his spirit would be broken. It can last a very long time; he was foolish enough to weaken when he tried to drown himself in the river,” Shadow said. “Marcus said one of the guards had taken part of the Phoenix Flower and Woodlock’s boy. There was also a woman… Cassandra and another boy Varian, they will likely get in our way again.”

“I know… Marcus has located Megan and Cassandra, they live in the island of New Corona,” Raven replied.   
Shadow smirked. “Ah, just as I expected... It will be easy to get back at them then.”   
Raven nodded. “Yes, master... He has also dealt with Woodlock’s boy Charlie. He will no longer be with them.” 

Shadow chuckled evilly as he thought back on their duel. “Perfect... Those fools thought they had beaten me well. We’ll see who will have the last laugh.” 

Raven nodded again. “Yes, we certainly will... Uh, one question why has the fire turned blue?” 

“Peter is connected to the fire, remember? They normally respond to his feelings,” Shadow said.

“H-How that doesn’t make any sense, he can’t feel anything right now, his mind is empty… Not that it was in a good state anyway.” Raven exclaimed as he pointed to him. “I mean he’s just like a mindless zombie!” 

“Perhaps when he is numb it responds to the atmosphere of the area… We’ll have to wait and see what happens, darkness will come to Corona, he will be the least of their worries,” Shadow said as he put a hand on Pete’s shoulder. “We are a threat that they have never faced before. They will be hopelessly under-resourced and unprepared. Our numbers will go up when those from Amestria join us and the other seven Kingdoms, go and see how they are getting on, find out their plans and report back to me.” 

Raven nodded, he would much rather be anywhere but this place so he apparated to New Corona. 

Shadow smirked, he thought he had it all under control, he was going to win the game of cat and mouse. He got himself up and stood back from Pete. “Okay, let’s try this again shall we?” 

Pete lifted his head, the bloodshot in his eyes had gotten worse as did the rash not that bothered him. He had taken a deep breath and recited the incantation. “Hellfire light up the night, dark fire destroy everything in sight, ashes to ashes, dusk to dusk... Release the spirit, release the spirit.” 

A medium-sized fire emerged since he had not put the same ferocity into it they did not come crashing out and create an instant inferno, but it would do for now. For the next few months, he would be working on his strength without even knowing it and soon he would have become a demon. 

  
  



	60. The Great Beyond

“F-Flower unleash heaven’s light... Share your power with me, turn back the tide, help me recover, heal what has been destroyed. Stop the plans of fate… Rescue what is lost, share your power with me… With me,” Harry sang quietly, he thought maybe if he just tried it again, it would work, his voice was shaky, but he just about managed to get the words out. There were streams of gold and red light, but he still failed to get a response.

“No! No! Why is it not working!” He cried, he nudged his shoulder, hoping to wake him somehow up. “No! Charlie!”

Harry could not bear it; he leaned on his frozen chest and broken down into tears again; he had not noticed his father enter the room.

“Harry.”

“D-Dad… I-I tried… I-I don’t understand why didn’t it work?” Harry cried. 

Woodlock sighed as he moved closer to him. He put a gentle hand on his shoulder. “He has been dead for approximately ten hours… There is a time limit on when someone can be resurrected.”

Harry’s eyes widened and shook his head. “No, no, that doesn't make any sense, Stan and I were dead for hours and yet were still able to come back w-why can’t Charlie?”

Woodstock shrugged. “Our magic works in mysterious ways... It is a powerful thing, but it has some limitations.”

“Y-You said Phoenix symbolises resurrection because of its power to heal! Why would there be a limit?”

“There’s nothing we can do, he has gone to the Great Beyond,” Woodlock said. “Once the power wears away, you and Mr Bader will start to deteriorate... It doesn't last forever; the reason Shadow Man is after the Phoenix Flower is to cheat death for as long as possible; he is not as young as he appears to be.”

Harry was speechless; he was only twenty-five so that he wouldn't get through his forties? He glanced at his brother, who has only passed the first three years of it. “Oh for Merlin’s sake! What is the point of resurrecting if it’s only temporary!”

Woodstock sighed. “Well, Phoenixes don’t have very long life spans... It has to be topped up depending on how much you have, in Mr Bader’s case it will be fifteen maybe twenty years since he had a petal.”

Harry gulped. “It would have been good if you had told Cass that earlier, Dad, give her and his wife a bit of a head’s up! Did I swallow a petal, or was it passed onto me through touch?”

“You were given a petal to,” Woodlock said. “I have tried one with the King but was not enough to break the curse... He will need a whole flower for that.”

Harry hummed, he did not know him much, but there was still something that irked him. He shook his head and breathed a heavy sigh. “If I give Charlie a whole flower, would that be enough to bring him back?”

His dad sighed as he bowed his head. “I doubt it... At the moment some of the guards are trying to put out the rest of the fire in Old Corona, the woodland is still burning up.”

Harry exhaled and glanced back at Charlie. “I think it's worth a try for him... He had his whole life in front of him, I know what Mustang said, but after thinking it over, I refuse to believe that he had killed himself!”

“He was found in the outskirts, lying motionless on the ground with his wand in his hand... He made a note,” Woodlock said. He breathed another sigh as he rummaged through his pocket until he found it and passed it onto him.

Harry frowned, there was a part of him that wished not to see it, but curiosity had drawn him to it.

_All I have done throughout my thirty-three years of life is make things a mess; maybe it’s my fault Mel had gone rogue. I had made her feel like she was an outcast,knocking her confidence, projecting my frustrations onto her. She thought she did not belong to this family; I thought I didn't either have a pure-blood wizard for a father and older brother while I was mixed.I tried to change my ways but always make the same mistakes; I still see the worst in people. I am no longer the person I used to be; I am not fit to do the medic's job, I do not have the resilience to put my pain aside, and I cannot care for others without my paranoia over Mel getting in the way. I have been just as bad as her for bringing shame to the Woodlock name with my disgraceful behaviour; they would be better off without me, so it is with a heavy heart that I end my life before I do any more damage._

Harry blinked a few times; his jaw dropped as he was speechless, he shook his head and tears streamed down his face. His chest ached even more along with his stomach. His legs had suddenly given away; he was caught by his dad just before he hit the ground. He held him gently, let him lean on his chest as he wept.“No, no, no... T-This is not how I wanted it to end!”

“I know, I know... There are just some things you cannot change,” Woodlock said.

“I can... I’ll do whatever it takes to get my brother back!” Harry said he sprung onto his feet the note clenched in his fist as he walked out.

“Where are you going?” Woodlock looked at his youngest in alarm, fear of something awful happening to him. 

“Outside... I-I need some air!” Harry replied, then quickened his pace.

* * *

An awkward silence hung in the air of the shop all day. Stefan's boggart still shook up Meg, knowing that the real one was out and about made it worse.

Meg sighed as she laid her brush down and bowed her head. She felt so frustrated. She told them all what Stefan was like. She told Eugene not to send anyone out to look for Pete; he did so anyway, which had devastating results. If Charlie had not been there, Cass and Varian would probably have died to; not even his pink goo bombs would have worked as he possibly could melt it with fire. The Serpents had torn his automaton apart, Stefan would be after his blood for trying to kill him. He had members scattered about everywhere, nowhere was safe. She imagined Raven would follow to see where they are going or snitch someone from the inside. That was the thing that had put her off from leaving for three years. She was like a frog in a pot that was slowly boiled.

“Do you think I’m weak because I ran away instead of attempting to fight?”

“No... Not everyone is up for fighting. I just don’t want him to hurt anyone else like Raps... I know she has Eugene, but she was almost assassinated yesterday so overthrowing our monarchy is on Shadow’s to-do list. You’re doing fine, Meg, I’m sorry I was harsh on you there,” Cass said.

“I did try to fight him once... He cheated on me. He it was because I failed to give him an offspring, he tried doing it with Mel since she was younger and healthier physically anyway... Whether that worked or not I don’t know,” Meg said.

Cassandra’s eyes widened in horror, she knew these women were not exactly good people, but she still felt awful for them being used like that. “Oh, that’s disgusting.”

Meg nodded. “Yeah, he makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it... He had hurt my left rib, threatened to hurt me more if I dared raise a hand at him again. He was going to drag me away to the middle of nowhere; he just saw me as his property, not a partner... I was a tool to keep him strong with the Phoenix Flower. I used to have golden hair like the Princess Rapunzel with red streaks. Eugene used to think I had strange genes as that was not normal hair colour. Stefan went completely off it when I had cut it off with a dagger. He had struck me repeatedly; I thought he was going to kill me.”

Cass sighed. “I’m so sorry you had been put through that, Meg.”

Meg bowed her head and rubbed her arm. “I was literally trapped; there was no one I could turn to for help. Mel did not seem to care that I was suffering... Her loyalty was with Stefan. I had let him down. She was okay when I had first met her but then became cold-hearted. She wasn’t physically abusive like Stefan, but emotional manipulation can be just as bad... When he... After he attacked me again I just ran, didn’t know where to go but I just wanted to get as far away as possible!”

Cass sighed as she turned to her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I know you’re scared, Megan… It’s okay, I’m sorry I wasn’t very sensitive to your feelings earlier but trust me he is not going to get you again, I’ll do everything I can to keep you safe.”

Meg shook her head. “Don’t put yourself at risk for me… You’ve done enough. I still can’t believe you had put your neck on the line for Stan… You and Varian could have been killed like the other guard who had been kidnapped by them.”

“Trust me, Meg, I have dealt with a lot worse than Pete… I had defeated a demon and a violent criminal, I’ve can do this!” Cass exclaimed. “He is clearly scared to otherwise he would not have run away somewhere.”

Meg sighed as she picked up her brush and resumed painting. “He will be working on another plan. If you are going to stay here, you will need to keep your guard up all of the time. They could strike at any moment.”

Cass nodded. “I know, I am good at that, they can try anything they like, but I won’t back down.”

Meg had fallen quiet. She was so stubborn like herself in her younger years when she was a headstrong young adult; now, she was an anxious older one. She would not budge unless her dad hauled her over his shoulder and ran for the hills like Varian’s dad. She wished them luck on their journey. She had a sinking feeling that they would be under attack.

Will looked at his workmate with concern. He had not been himself lately, quieter than he used to be, not chipper or anything. However, Max was happy that he stopped bending the rules on the dress code. It was strange seeing him around without his buddy. He seemed lost without him. He thought he would make a couple of friends with the guys, but he had not even made one. Guessed he was feeling lonely, just like when he started thirteen years ago. “Hey, Stan… Are you alright?”

Stan was startled since he had been lost in thought trying to push himself to remember the decade's events, but it was blank. He felt like he had just jumped ten years ahead, in his mind, he was a young adult, a rookie, but now he was in an older man’s body. They say life is short, but this was just ridiculous. “I don’t know... I know I should be over the moon that I’m back and I’m going to be a father but... I’ve just been like... Numb.”

Will nodded. “Yeah, I can understand that... You’ve been through a hell of a lot; someone is missing from your life, sadly he had gone astray and-“

“You can’t make me sing in front of all those people!” Lance cried as he ran down the street in a panic.

“Lance! Wait! It’s not real!” Keira called out as she and Catalina ran after him.

Will and Stan gave each other with a puzzled expression then guessed he came across another boggart.

“Okay… These magical creatures are causing a lot of havoc, making people seeing their worst fears like the red rocks in June,” Will said.

Stan narrowed his eyes as he looked at him with a puzzled expression. “What?”

Will sighed, of course, he did not remember, it caused so much chaos in the Royal Guard department. Pete cried like a baby when he had seen Ulf, the mime guy from the Snuggly Duckling, in one big rock. Stan then cried when he had turned into a solid red statue shortly after the same thing happened to him, about half of the guard had turned into red statues. “Never mind, have those things bothered you?”

“No… Nothing seems to faze me these days,” Stan replied and sighed. “It was weird when I… Died I was a little bluish-green blob, and there was this black and white path that moved by itself there were three others as well, said they were going to a place called the Great Beyond, it was like a big white light… The next thing I knew, I was up again.”

Will stared at him. There were very few people who had been brought back to life. It was difficult to describe what it was like to die. Some thought you went to some paradise up in the sky if you were good, a fiery pit if you were bad others thought nothing happened. You just ceased to exist, he had never heard of bluish-green blobs before or the moving path, that was the strangest thing he had ever heard. He was surprised to see Eugene in town as he leaned against the window with a panicked look on his face.

“No, no, not again!” Eugene cried as he tried to flatten a strand that seemed to stay up stubbornly. “Someone wake me up from this misery!”

“What’s wrong, Cap?” Stan asked.

“Seriously? Out of everything that has happened to you, your fear is a bit of hair out of place?” Cass said as she looked at him with a deadpanned expression.

“How are you so okay with this?” Eugene cried.

“I’ve seen it so many times before… I just have to be prepared to face it again,” Cass said. “What are you doing here, anyway? Shouldn’t you be in the castle?”

Eugene sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. “I had come out to help with the investigation of Charlie’s death… I am somewhat doubtful it was uh… What Mustang thinks it is.”

Cass nodded. “Well… How is that going? Has Harry managed to resurrect him?”

Eugene sighed as he bowed his head. “No… He doesn’t have enough power to do that, Woodlock thinks it’s too late anyway.”

Cass sighed, she had swallowed a petal, would that mean she had more power? She felt like kicking herself for not stepping in. She made the same mistake she had done with Varian, just being a bystander. “Damn, he was just starting to grow on me… Sure he was a jerk at first, but he saved me twice, he did not deserve that fate… What does his Captain think happened to him?”

Eugene was quiet for a moment as he glanced at the floor. “He thinks he had killed himself, but after talking to his father and older brother, there are just some things that don’t add up. Sam told me that the note isn’t even in his handwriting.”

Cass paused, she was shocked at first, but now she saw what he meant. “In that case, he was murdered… How is Harry?”

“Naturally heartbroken, he had run out of the castle earlier, he tried to get on with work, but after seeing him again, he just cracked… I think it’s best to leave him alone for now,” Eugene replied.

Cass glanced through the window. Her heart went out to him, she had seen him sitting on his own on the fountain, she wished she could go out to talk to him, but she had to stay and work. “Good luck on cracking this case, have you found any witnesses?”

Eugene shook his head. “Not yet… Surely someone had seen something, he was found on a lower tier, it had taken a while for them to carry him up.” He bowed his head and looked down at the sign Rapunzel had made. It was him in Varian’s arms again with a bunch of demons surrounding them. At the bottom, a red text reads ‘Beware of bogarts. It is only an illusion.’

Cass smirked as she peered at the illustration. “She had gotten that right… You wet yourself when a single hair is out of place. I can just imagine how you would react if you had seen a dementor.”

“Oh ha, ha Cass-And-Ra!” Eugene retorted just like old times then turned serious again. “Anyway, I should get going, I’m going to try asking Monty and Xavier if they had seen anything unusual. Keep up the good work.”

Cass nodded and put on a little smile despite being increasingly frustrated, she could not get a break, all she wanted was to get through her community service, but she could not get through a day without something going wrong. “I’ll try.” Once he left, she breathed a heavy sigh and resumed painting.

* * *

Harry felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and crushed, he hunched over with his head in his hands and just cried. He had gotten some odd stares, but he did not care, his heart was breaking, saying he was sad would be an understatement, he did not even know how to describe this feeling. He had a burst of hope with finding another Phoenix Flower, but he was still scared, what if Shadow attacked him again? What if they attacked Corona again? What if after all that he still failed to bring his brother back to life? Would it be possible for him to bring him back from the Great Beyond with a whole flower?

“What is the matter, young fellow?”

Harry froze, he did not know this man; this deep voice was unfamiliar to him. He looked up and seen Xavier. “M-My brother is- is gone.”

Xavier shook his head. “No, no… He is very much alive.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. His mood switched to irritation. “No, he’s not! I had seen his corpse twice. He has been dead for hours! I had even tried to heal him, but it was not enough!”

Xavier sighed, he misunderstood his point, he glanced at the fountain then back at him. “Look in the water.”

Harry sighed and reluctantly turned and looked down into the icy cold water. He had a deadpanned expression; he still did not get it. “What good is looking at my reflection going to do?”

Xavier moved closer to the younger man, he placed one hand on his shoulder, and the other swiped the water. “Look harder.”

Harry sighed, none of this was made sense; he had taken another look, focused and slowly his reflection merged into Charlie’s. His jaw dropped; he could not understand how this happened.

Xavier but on a small smile. “You see, he lives in you.”

Harry was speechless, he could look at it for hours, but after a few minutes, Charlie’s face faded and changed back into his own reflection. He sighed and bowed his head. “It’s not the same as having him physically with me… I-I want him back.”

Xavier nodded. “I know, this is very painful, but in time you will learn to live with it, I have when I had lost loved ones.”

Harry did not fully listen as he stared into space. “I am going to help get rid of the boggarts and get the other Phoenix Flower to save my brother.”

Xavier sighed. “That is a huge risk. I hear you were in great danger getting it the first time around and the King is after it to.”

Harry shrugged. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”


	61. Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Cass yawned as she exited the shop alongside Meg, it had been a very long day, she wished she had gone out to help Harry, she thought he could heal him, and everything would be alright again, it did not make sense why was it okay for Stan and Harry but not Charlie? She glanced at Stan, who said something about being a blue blob and white light, something called The Great Beyond, had Charlie gone past that point? There were still some things that seemed suspicious about his death; she turned and moved back to the alleyway where she had seen the men carry him.

“Well, that was eventful, can’t get a break, can we?” Meg said as she shook her head, she paused when she did not reply then ran after her, alleyways were a no go zone for her, especially with the Serpents around. “Where are you going?”

“Something seems off about Charlie’s death… I mean Eugene said he was found on the lower tier, if he did want to kill himself he would have gone to a secluded area or stayed in his room, not in the street where people live nearby!” Cass said.

Meg nodded. “Good point… It couldn’t be Shadow then if he killed him he would have been thrown into the river or kidnapped.”

“Any idea how we can get rid of the boggarts?” Cass asked.

“Eugene said he would sort something out with Lance once he has stopped running away screaming his head off,” Meg replied.

“Yeah,” Cass chuckled at the thought of that goofball. “It had taken them hours to get up my rock tower; they will find it very hard to deal with them.”

Meg nodded, the two were silent as they looked around for clues, anything they could use as proof.

“Well, well, what are you two fine ladies doing in an alleyway?”

Cass and Meg jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice; they turned around to see one of the magical guards. Marcus.

Cass narrowed her eyes; she could ask him the same thing, what need did he have to be out at this time?

Marcus sighed as he leaned on the wall. “You know, it is not a good time for you and your friend to be wandering around.”

Cass shook her head. “It’s fine. I am perfectly capable of defending myself.”

Marcus laughed darkly as he crossed his arms and shook his head. “Yeah, right... You totally had Pete, beaten him with your little fists, did not need Charlie’s help at all. He only saved your butt twice,” he got up and brushed past her then paused. “Oh, by the way, he is dead... Sad really, he has actually done it this time.”

“I don’t think it was suicide, it just does not add up, if he was found in Old Corona that would make more sense,” Cass said as she walked forward then stopped just behind him. “Wait a minute, how do you know I struggled with fighting Pete? You were not there, none of you was able to get in because the fire had grown too big.”

Marcus shrugged. “Oh, Charlie told us about it all when he returned, you are not going to be so fortunate next time.”

Cass shot him a glare, he was so patronising she barely knew him, and she hated him already. “I’m sure I will do just fine, I have dealt with people much worse than him.”

Marcus smirked. “Oh, this will be much worse than that pathetic monster... You are all in dire danger, oh joy.”

Cass rolled her eyes and carried on walking down, that guy was creeping her out, for some reason she got stalker vibes from him. “Come on, Meg, let’s get going.”

Meg nodded and followed after her. “Okay, no problem.”

Cass raised an eyebrow as she glanced at her friend. “Are you okay, Meg? You have said okay, no problem five times today… Yeah, I counted.”

Meg sighed. “I’m just nervous… He seems familiar.” 

Marcus huffed then apparated, he would get back to them later.

The pair of them were quiet most of the way back home then they had come across something that should not be a surprise but was unexpected, a small stage was set up with a pair of orange curtains that had theatrical masks on, Eugene came out looking rather sheepish.

“Hmm, wonder what the Captain of The Guards is doing in a stage show?” Meg said as she turned and put a hand on her hip.

Cass sighed as she glanced at him, then turned away. “I hope it’s not Felspar’s stupid play again… Or the one about Stan and Pete… Steve and Pedro.”

Meg was not entirely familiar with the cobbler but did not like the sound of his so-called plays. They were more like public humiliation. She sighed as she spotted Stan amongst the small crowd; he would have no idea it was about him. They had heard some people making fun of him for his memory loss, calling him “dopey.” Maybe that was one of the reasons he had been so down lately. She was just about to follow Cass away when she heard Lance’s voice.

“You are throwing a talent show? Really? Shouldn’t you be working on finding those snakes before they kill another person or get Pete to burn down New Corona?”

Eugene walked off the stage; he seemed confident it would work, just like the red rocks. “Yes, remember the day when we had the red rocks? Your song boosted everyone’s spirits and made the rocks go away!”

Lance sighed. “Actually, that was Varian with his amber who got rid of those pesky red rocks… Do I really have to sing that song again?”

Eugene nodded, he was right, Varian and Rapunzel had gone through the Herz Der Sonne tunnels to get to the root of the problem. This time, they did not have Varian and Mustang said neither the boggarts could be defeated with alchemy, only magic, but there was too many of them for the Aurora to cast away every time they appeared. He hoped just cheering people up to face their fears again would be enough to get them gone for good. He waved his hand and smiled more broadly. “Oh, Mustang is handling that, he’s bringing the big guys over to help with the search, for two years it has been doom and gloom, they need something to cheer them up if they are all happy they will no longer be so afraid of those beasts!”

“Ahh! Get away!” A little boy cried as he watched the scary magic man from over his shoulder and bumped into Cassandra.

“It’s okay, kid… It’s not real, just an illusion,” Cass whispered as she comforted his shoulder, she was unfamiliar with the man who the boggart formed, he was tall, tanned skin, raven hair, short beard, quite a bit of muscle in his arms, dark grey robe and held his wand out, she figured this boy was at the first attack from The Serpents in Old Corona. The little boy hid behind her. Whether this guy was real or not, he was still scared. She looked around for Sam or Harry to make it disappear. She gasped as turned back into the creature it turned into Fire Pete, that was peculiar, she expected something like Zhan Tiri or her dad hating her that was a far worse fear, although seeing him again like this did creep her out.

“That’s, Pete?” Meg said.

Cass nodded. “That is what he looks like now, practically a demon himself.”

The little boy screamed and ran away again. This guy scared him even more than the other one.

“Oh my God, it’s Peter! Someone get the guard!” One woman cried out, the people in the audience turned and screamed then ran around aimlessly in a panic.

“Hold up! Hold up, everyone! It is not the real Pete… It is a magical monster!” Eugene called out and put his hands up to catch their attention but failed.

“I’ll say, he burnt down half of the Kingdom! Old Corona village is in ruins!” The man with the long brown moustache, bushy eyebrows, hair and khaki tunic was also a victim of that attack.

“Dragons!” Nigel screamed as he ran across the street then turned and seen a huge black dragon breathing fire. He fainted from shock.

“Oh, boy,” Eugene sighed as he put a hand on his forehead to make things worse the boggart of Fire Pete had blasted flames around, some of the men rushed into buildings and put out a fire with buckets. “Where are those guys anyway?”

“Uh, looking for evil wizards like you should be doing, also they are dealing with a death,” Cassandra said. “It won’t work, the people will not stick around to watch it.”

“Okay, okay, everyone, listen up! This guy and that dragon, whatever you are seeing are not real! Just ignore it!” Eugene called out.

“We can’t!” The man with the large, bushy moustache cried.

“You can look at the stage... We’ve got a lot of stars tonight,” Eugene said.

“We have guards around, so there is nothing to be afraid of, they cannot hurt you.”

“Yeah, get him, Stan!” the man who first ran away from Fire Pete cheered as Stan rugby tackled the monster. He was completely unafraid of him or anything, so the boggart could not work out his worst fear.

Lily gasped and threw a hand over her mouth. She could not believe this was what her dear friend had become. Although it was not real, seeing the two of them fight like this was deeply upsetting for her. When she came across a boggart she had seen Stan as a corpse even though that issue had been resolved she still feared it would happen again.

The fake Pete had taken several hard punches to the face, then disappeared. She expected him to feel a crick in his spine again, but he did not appear to feel any pain, did the flower give him extra strength?

“Wow, you had taken him down all by yourself!” A man exclaimed.

“There are more where that came from,” Cass said as she gestured to the dragons, the form of her moonstone self, automatons, evil witches and wizards other demons.

Stan sighed. “Oh boy, I’ve really got my work cut out for me today.”

“Cass, I need your help!”

Cassandra turned around to see Sam. He looked frantic, sick with worry. She had slipped away and gone towards him. Meg was trying to avoid facing her ex again, and Stan had tackled another boggart.

“It’s Harry. He’s missing... I haven't seen him since this morning. Dad said he ran away after trying to heal Charlie. He thinks that if he gets another Phoenix Flower, he can bring him back!” Sam cried.

“Oh no,” Cass muttered, she glanced at Eugene, this was something he really should be doing, but he seemed a bit preoccupied. “Alright, I’m sure he has not gone far; we still need to find him quickly.”

She followed after him. They started in one alleyway, no sign of him there, maybe he was further ahead. “If he has gone for the flower, he would be in Old Corona. I hope Serpents and Pete are not there.”

“Yeah, that would be awful,” Sam replied. “Bad enough, I have already lost two siblings to them... It’s scary to think the three of us could have died that day.”

“I am so sorry about Charlie... You believe he was murdered to?” Cass said.

Sam nodded. “Oh, aye... Yes, he had had those thoughts before even attempted it once but for starters, he was found in the street, and that note is not even in his handwriting!”

Cass nodded. “Yes, that was what I had thought to put there is one thing I do not understand... Why couldn't Harry use his power to resurrect Charlie?”

Sam sighed as he bowed his head. “He has how you say gone beyond the veil. There is a time limit when a dead person can be saved, from what I hear you had just saved Stan in time. Dad did not think you were going to make it.”

“Why is that?” Cass asked.

“We believe in the great beyond a void where our souls go after we die, to go through there is the point of no return,” Sam said.

Cass nodded that seemed to make sense. When someone died, Rapunzel had to move quickly to save them. “What is the time limit for that?”

“Four hours,” Sam replied.

Cass was surprised. She thought it would be much less than then again, Stan and Harry were dead for three hours, she breathed out a loud sigh, how could she break it to him that his brother was beyond saving?

“Dad is looking for him in the woods. He’s hoping it is not today that the Serpents return,” Sam said.

Cass nodded. “Yeah, I don’t think Pete would take too kindly for another person to take his flower.”

* * *

Meanwhile, Pete was alone, staring at the blue fire that he had just created, he was still a mindless zombie, he waited for hours while his master had a bit of ‘fun’ with Eva, the young woman with the power to control water. He had been under the imperious curse for a week now. He was too weak to fight it had just woken up, and the stone was not strong enough to stop it, he needed either the stone to regain its strength or someone to snap him out of it.

Mel sighed as she snuck in and taken another look over her shoulder to check there was no one else around, she knelt in front of him and looked him in the eyes and tried shaking him by the shoulders. “Come on, snap out of it, Peter!”

It did not make any difference, he did not break his stare, it worried her how much worse the bloodshot had become, he had not gotten any sleep, and that was one of the effects the stone had on a person, could he even see clearly? “Peter!” she tried snapping her fingers, but that did not work either. “It’s me, Melanie… You have to fight this thing!”

Still nothing, she groaned as she facepalmed, what was she going to do? “Peter, come on.”

It was no use, she could not just wait for him to snap out of it or for it to wear off, she grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up, but he would not budge, of course, he only obeyed Shadow, the one who put him under the curse, she could not tell him to get up unless… She looked at her bag where she had her shapeshifting cape, she moved away then returned as Shadow. She cleared her throat and tried to get her voice to go as low as possible to sound somewhat like him, which was very difficult. “Get up!”

Pete slowly stood up and followed after Mel. It did not seem that she did not sound exactly like him; she just looked like him.

“Quickly!" 

They moved further away from the camp then paused, Mel had pulled out her wand, and the pair of them vanished into thin air, they were in a faraway land, she wished she could take her cloak off, but she had to carry on with Shadow's face. "Come on!" She led him through the woodland. She had no idea where they were going to stay but was sure she would find somewhere secure to hide until Shadow was gone, but even on the other side of the world would have been far enough. 

"Not so fast sweetheart," Marcus hissed viciously as he ripped the magic cloak from her, Raven stood there beside him with his arms crossed, the guy she thought was one of her closest friends looked at her with a heartless glare. 

Mel released her grip on Pete and whipped out her wand.

“Oh, how bold of you to think you can fight me, I had taken your brother down in five minutes!” Marcus exclaimed.

Mel narrowed her eyes and frowned, she did not know she had siblings. "What?" 

"Oh, that's right you don't remember, poor girl had your memory wiped out twice," Mark taunted her. "You're out of your depth little girl, come quietly, and I will not tell the master how you betrayed him, you know what he does to traitors?" 

Mel sighed, she knew full well what happened to those who dared to turn their backs on him, they were swiftly executed with the killing curse and dumped in a ditch or river, she held Pete's hand and reluctantly walked towards Mark but then stopped herself. "No."  
Mark raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Mel raised her head and glared at him. "Did I stutter, Mark? I said no, I am not letting Shadow and the rest of you continue using Peter as a weapon, this has gone too far!" She pinned the evil wizard against a tree and pressed the wand against his throat. 

Marcus laughed maliciously. "You're going to kill me? Wow, you have never killed before, tortured yeah, obliviated but never kill... You haven't got the guts." 

"No one has pissed me off as much as you! It was your foolish decision to follow us!" Mel hissed, but he saw her confidence slip. 

"You don't even know the incantation do you?" Marcus taunted. "My silly pussy cat." He pushed her off and stood over her. "Nice try, but you were too obvious going straight for Pete while he was alone, stealing from the master, tsk tsk... Bad kitty. I have tried to be nice, shame you could have been a great witch." 

"I already am a better witch than Ivy! I know when to stop, she doesn't!" Mel snapped. 

"Bit too late now isn't it? You could have stopped this before the trip to Amestria. Still, you wanted that flower so badly, you even tried to overthrow Shadow, our master, this is the second time you have betrayed him, Raven was foolish enough to think you can be trusted not to cross him again," Marcus said, he pressed the tip of his wand against the middle of her chest. "You will never be with your family, Pete will forget all about you, he doesn't even really love you, he only stayed with you for sex... Funny I am about to kill two birds with one stone, you and that spawn the pair of you created." 

"Flippendo!" Mel shouted in an instant. Marcus was thrown across the ground. 

Marcus groaned as he got back on his feet and raised his wand, he flicked it and knocked Mel back. 

Mel copied his movement, gold sparks shot out from her wand, she repeated this action several times, she almost had him.

"Crucio!" Marcus yelled a red light travelled from his wand to her, he smirked as he seen her eyes widen, she had forgotten the protection charm she crumbled onto the floor, he was going to say "Avarda Kedavra", but this seemed more fun, it had been a while since he heard the music of a person's screams in agony. He would then paralyse her and let Shadow deal with her. 

Mel twisted and turned, she shrieked several times, her chest felt so tight it became too difficult to breathe, terrified and devastated that her escape attempt had failed so badly, she wished she could snap that monster's wand in two and wipe that wicked smirk off his face. 

"This is what you deserve, we trained you for years, Shadow had taken you in when you had nowhere to go and even saved you from muggles, yet here you are throwing your life away for one," Marcus taunted. 

Mel could not talk back, the pain was too much, she was sure she was going to lose the baby from this. "AAAHHHH! AAAHHH!" 

Marcus had dragged this out for a while then nodded and decided it was enough for now, he grabbed her and Raven had taken Pete with a flick of their wands they had all apparated back to the camp. 

* * *

Backstage Lance was quivering, this giant spider was worse than the one he had seen last time, it did not have clown makeup or a silly voice. It looked much more realistic, it was like an overgrown tarantula.

“Come on, Lance, it's not really a giant spider... You are bigger than that!” Keira said. “Remember that song you told us?”

Lance had almost fallen off the stage but stopped himself and looked back at the monstrous creature. He narrowed his eyes and stomped towards it. “You’re right, I am bigger than this thing, I am bigger than my fear, and even without magic, I will defeat it with the very thing I do best!” He charged through the curtain, the atmosphere was still quite chaotic, but he was sure he could get it under control. Stan helped with taking some of them down. He had taken a deep breath and began to sing.

“When you’re scared and stricken and losing your cool when you're such a chicken, you feel like a fool.” He paused for a moment then everyone stopped running around and screaming instead watched him.

“Don’t freeze up, just ease up and don’t forget this little rule!” Lance sang and tapped his foot to the rhythm of the tune.

“Uh, there it is!” He smiled as he had seen people gather around although they were still; scared having their fears in their faces. “Come with me people, yeah!” He rolled his arms as he strolled between them, they were facing big green snakes, fiery Pete’s and little black demons with red horns which chased Monty away then got a helping hand from him. “When your palms are sweating, when panic attacks, when you’re close to wetting your favourite slacks, stop freakin’ and striking, don’t look so bleak and just relax kid and if you weaken when your courage starts to plummet,” Lance patted the elderly candy man’s shoulders to boost his confidence then backed away. “Step up and overcome it!”

Monty’s lollypop grew into a ginormous size, he jumped up and beaten the demons.

“You’re bigger, you’re badder, you’re bigger than that,”

Lance turned to see Catalina and Keira with fiery Pete again, it looked like the counter charm to oblivate worked, they both looked terrified as they moved towards each other, he hopped up behind them and put a hand on their shoulder.

“You know you’re stronger and harder and smarter than that!” He sang, which helped make them feel better. Keira grabbed Fire Pete’s hand, and he turned into a red balloon.

Lance beamed as he looked down at his little girl and lifted her up for a moment. “Stay cool as a cat.” He then turned to Catalina who he had almost lost forever, he lifted her up and spun her around. “What were you afraid of? You’re bigger than that so when you’re haunted or daunted stay cool as a cat.”

He made a swift exit as he carefully put her down and turned to Attila, another one who had a fear of Fire Pete even though he had not even seen him yet. “Oh, I feel good now, woo! Come on, we can do this!”

He guessed just hearing the stories was enough to make the tough pub thug terrified of the guy, strangely he was accompanied by flying burnt croissants. Lance grabbed one of the demonic snacks and tossed it across like a boomerang. “If you still feel uneasy, still tremble with dread when you feel so queasy you would rather be dead.”

Felspar was faced with a giant snake with big, sharp fangs.

Lance jumped in between them and grabbed the redhead man’s hand and spun him around. “Don’t sweat it don’t fret it ‘cause if you let it turn your head, kid!”

Feeling inspired Felspar rolled up his sleeves and charged towards the creature.

Lance turned around to see how Attila had got on, he found his spark to, he had given Fire Pete a hard punch then hopped on top of a giant rolling pin and flatten the smaller demons.

“'Cause you're bigger, you're badder, you're better than that. You know you're bolder!”

Like an anime character, Felspar had raised up, formed a ball of light with his hands and defeated the snake. “You're buffer. You're tougher than that and since you're braver, don't waver! Just hand it its hat show it what you're made of. You're bigger than that!”

Lance turned and looked at Lily, who had her hands over her face and huddled in the corner, right in front of her was her husband’s corpse. Of course, she knew he would die someday, but her fear was getting killed again, as cruelly as he had last time or straight out like Charlie. He did not expect it to get so deep, he was just about to approach her, but then Stan came up to her.

“Sweetheart, it is going to be okay, we will get through it all.”

Lily put on a small smile as she was pulled into a big bear hug. “Be careful… They are still out there.”

“I know, don’t worry I’m bigger and better than them, they won’t get me this time,” Stan said and kissed her forehead. “Ready to kick some demonic butt?”

Lily nodded then got up and alongside him beaten the stuffing out of little black demons.

“Yeah, that’s the spirit!” Lance beamed. “And once you know this, there's nothing to fear, every neurosis will just disappear because you're bigger, you're badder, you're better than that!”

Monty, Felspar, Attila, Keira and Catalina gathered around Lance, they had really gotten into it as they did some random dancing.

“You know you're chiller and you're a flipper, and you're hipper than that so face your demon, stop screamin', and pummel it flat!” Lance sang out and slammed the last demon with his fist. He smiled at the group and held his arms out. “What were you afraid of? You're bigger than that!”

In reality, they were on stage, holding their arms out all pointing to him. There was a moment of silence then the people cheered, the monsters were finally gone.

Meg smiled, she had not heard Lance sing before, but he was good, his song did make her feel better, she realised the ghost of her abusive ex-boyfriend was gone, she turned to face Cass but instead there was an empty space.

“Cass? Cass?” She looked left, right and everywhere for her. “Cass!”

“They like me, they really, really like me!” Lance beamed. Eugene smiled from his big stool and clapped. “Great job buddy, what a better way to start a talent show than the last winner three months ago?”

“That was three months ago? I thought it was longer than that,” Lance said as he exited the stage and Vlad walked on.

“I am going to show you how to paint a unicorn,” the animal-loving giant said as he showed them a small ceramic unicorn, he picked up a small paintbrush. “One eye and now then the other eye, doesn’t she look cute?”

The crowd was quiet for a while but then clapped politely after he left Keira and Catalina came up. Catalina stood on top of a pair of barrels and Kiera was at the front, “Gather close one and all for the truly outstanding feat, the likes of which has never been seen before, standing beside me today is my sister who has been through a lot. Some wicked witch had hurt her head, but she will be dead meat! She may be small now, but when she gets in the zone she’s a fierce fighter!” Kiera announced.

Catalina snarled like an angry dog, her eyes flashed red which scared most adults despite having seen this before. Dark brown and black fur sprouted out of her, she grew an extra three feet and howled.

Lance sighed, he would have rather she did not ‘wolf out’ in public not that he was ashamed of her condition, but he was afraid of one of The Serpents retaking her.

“Doe, ray, me!” Attila tried to sing, but he was way off-key, the bucket did not help matters either.

“I don’t think that’s quite right… Uh-“ Stan tried to put it gently then Lance stepped in.

“Attila, don’t you remember what I told you last time? Stand with your feet apart, knees relaxed, do not raise your chin; it puts tension on your vocal cords and pleases breath from here!” Lance touched the middle of his waist.

“Lance, sorry to interrupt your singing lesson but I need your help, Cass is missing!” Meg said. “She was there before you started singing and then disappeared!”

Lance’s eyes widened slightly then turned to Stan. “Alright, Captain stache you come with me! You do know who Cassandra is right?”

Stan blinked a few times. “Cass… Cass.”

“The other lady we were watching today,” Will said, he looked concerned at his friend, he had only just seen her earlier. He was sadly doubtful he would last long in the guard with the way he struggled to remember names.

“Yeah… Cassandra, about this high, white, slim, short black hair, hazel eyes, that ring any bells?” Lance said.

“Oh, yeah, that’s Cass,” Stan said.

“Alright, let’s go and find her before someone else does,” Lance said and led the way, he stopped to tell his girls.

“Keira, Cat, stay with Eugene and Will.”

“Wait, where are you going?” Keira asked.

“To find Cassandra, we won’t be long, she couldn’t have gone far,” Lance replied.

* * *

“Harry! Harry!” Cassandra cried out, it had been an hour since they had started their search, they were currently in the countryside, what has left of it anyway.

“Harry!” Sam yelled. “Harry!”

Cass sighed and ran a hand through her hair, there was no sign of him anywhere, along the way they came across Woodlock on… A unicorn? Although she supposed she should not have been surprised, he came from a place full of magic, heck even Corona had dragons and magical artefacts. He kind of reminded her of Max, being a white horse but this one was bigger and stronger, he would feel very insecure around this guy, on the iron circle plate in his harness there was the Phoenix emblem, and underneath was the name Draco.

Woodlock sighed as he hoped they would have found him in the Capital. “No luck, huh?”

Cass shook her head, she hoped they would find him tonight, she should not really be out this late, her dad would flip. “No… When did he run away?”

Woodlock looked left then back at Cass. “Just before lunch, he was very distressed from seeing Charlie, I tried to explain but-“

“Okay… That was a while ago, so chances are he will be in the woods,” Cass said and turned around. “Which is right down there… At least The Serpents are out of the country now.”

“For now, they could return at any time,” Sam said as he followed after her. “It will be hard to figure out who did kill Charlie and to prove it.”

“Isn’t there a way you can tell whose handwriting that was?” Cass asked.

“I wish, but no, there’s not a way to do that,” Sam said. “Unless we examine everyone’s handwriting, but that would take so long.”

Cass nodded and sighed again. “I’m so sorry, Sam... I thought Harry would have enough power to heal him, I should have helped.”

Sam shook his head. “Don’t beat yourself up about it, there’s nothing any of us could have done once they have passed that point that is it, there’s no going back.”

For hours they had searched for him in the streets, outskirts and the woods but was unsuccessful.Cass sighed as Woodlock moved further ahead and continued to call his son’s name every few minutes. She imagined this was what her dad was like when he searched for her even though he was not supposed to.

“Harry! Harry!” Sam continued to cry out. 

Cassandra thought it was no use in calling his name, they never got a response, she just hoped he did not get tangled up in Shadow’s trap. She was afraid she was terrified, not for herself but for him, she had a bad feeling he would get caught by one of Stefan's snakes and be inflicted with their venomous bite like Charlie. 

* * *

Mel squirmed as she tried to break out of the chains that Marcus had restrained her to the bed she used in the trip to Amestria, she dreaded to think what Shadow was going to do to her when he was finished with his meeting, he had also separated her from Pete who was still under the trap of the imperious curse if her screams were not enough to break him out of it nothing was, although she supposed it might have worked had the Fire Stone not been weakened. Her wand was confiscated which made escaping the campsite much more difficult, what scared her more was what he was planning to do with Pete, he had already made him do so much, he had completely ruined his life, he could never go back to how he was before, there was no way he could go back to the guard or any job for that matter. If he so much as set foot in Corona again he would be arrested and strung up, she had not thought much of it before. Still, now she regretted stringing him along, playing him for her own personal gains, there was no way out for either of them, not one that allowed them to live, thirty-six years wasted. 

* * *

Shadow had gathered with his main circle, Raven and Ivy, Marcus was ordered to guard Pete while he slept.

“How far has hair stripe gone?” Shadow asked.

“He has just past Varderos, they will be stopping here for camp,” Raven said and pointed to the area between Varderos and the next town.“Are you sure this is wise? To use our time and resources to go after one person?” 

“He almost broken my ribs, I’m not letting him off the hook!” Shadow snapped. “Then we will take Meg back, she still owes me.”

Raven nodded. "We have also heard rumours about a twin Phoenix Flower, we have another shot at winning the race this time, our main opponent is Harold." 

"Harry, as he is more commonly known," 

"One of Woodlock's boys, how many kids does that old man have? I keep taking them down and more come!" Shadow said. 

"Four, as far as I know, anyway," Raven replied. 

Ivy smirked, typical Shadow going raging like a bull, not thinking things through. “I think the kind of plan we need requires a bit more... Finesse.”

Shadow frowned and looked at her with a baffled expression. “What?”

“Be more sneaky, his father is giving it three months if Peter does not show they will return, make them think it’s safe then bam!” Ivy said and slammed her hand on the table. "With him permanently out of the picture, it will send a strong message to the Coronans, that we are stronger than ever before, they won't stand a chance." 

“Marcus told me they changed that, they are going to wait until Eugene gives them the all-clear, ” Raven said. “Although we could pull a little trick he will need to learn what the muggle Captain's handwriting looks like, he got close to Charlie’s.”

Shadow frowned, he wanted to get this over and done with not wait longer. 

Ivy smirked. "You know what they say, good things come to those who wait, you rushed in last time and look how that turned out, Pete had no idea what the hell he was doing, and you made him high as an air balloon, so he just burnt everything!" 

Shadow nodded, he had started to come around to her idea, it was vindictive and cunning, which was the qualities the Serpent possessed. "Alright... I'll let them have their fun, for now, they will be foolish enough to let their guard down then we will strike, the curse is strong enough to last but if it does wear off I will just-"

"AAAHHHH!!"

The three of them stared at each other, shocked to hear one of their men screaming, they instantly whipped their wands out and dashed out of the tent and ran towards the source of the screaming.

"AAAHHH! AAHHH!" 

It was not hard to figure out what was going on as a cloud of smoke appeared and a growing fire spread out, the other Serpents gathered around and shouted out "Aqua" to put out the blaze as quickly as possible, Raven and Ivy stayed back to help, Shadow went on ahead. 

"You dared to harm my girlfriend and child, I don't know what the fuck just happened to me but I'm glad I'm over it now!" Pete growled as he blasted at Marcus. "I have never killed someone before but you will be the first."

Mel's eyes widened as she had frozen up, she could not understand how he had just suddenly snapped out of it like that, her jaw dropped as Pete brutally attacked the guy who had just tortured her, this time it was his screams that rang out. She had mini flashbacks of one thing she would never forget, her witch trial where she was burnt at the stake. Mel pushed through the pain and pulled him back. "Peter, stop! You're taking it too far!" 

"He had almost killed you and our child! I'm not going to let him get away with that!" Pete yelled. 

"If you kill him you will stoop to his level, trust me you don't want murder to be added onto the list of the charges you have!" Mel cried. "Please don't be that monster Shadow has been trying to make you become!" 

"It's too late! I already have, even before I met him I was an awful person!" Pete snapped. "I told you to go! Far away from here!" 

Shadow groaned, he could not leave that guy for ten minutes without something going wrong, he was impossible to control. "Peter!" He yelled then only just dodged a fireball that came his way. "What the hell are you doing?" 

Pete panted as he turned away from Marcus who was the first person he had burnt almost to death in minutes, he slowly walked towards his former master. "I don't know what you did to me but it doesn't matter now."

"What are you talking about? Have you completely lost your mind?" Shadow yelled.

Pete shook his head as he drew closer. "No, I have just found it... I am ending this now, I have freed Mel so she can go live her life the right way, now I'm going to kill you then myself... The only way I can make sure no other idiot will get hold of this bloody thing and keep Corona safe from myself and morons like me." He raised his hand ready to unleash hell one more time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woah! Pete has completely snapped, will Shadow's reign of terror go up in smoke? Pun intended or will he get this firecracker back under his clutches? ;)  
> Is Harry okay? Where could he be? 
> 
> Sorry for the delay, I had a terrible creative block and personal issues, thank you all for the kudos, comments, subscriptions, bookmarks and most of all your patience!


	62. When Hell Is Unleashed Sparks Fly

"Hellfire light up the night, destroy everything in sight, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, release the spirit, release the spirit!"

Pete has had enough; he was hanging on by a thread; he thought it was typical the only time he did something right on the last day of his life. He was done running and fighting. He was eager to go to Death like an old friend. No one would care what happened to him; they would be happy that he is gone. Maybe throw a party at the castle to celebrate, he dryly laughed under his breath as he thought of Cass and Varian. They would be over the moon that the monster that attacked them was dead, he had started a fire almost as destructive as the one in Old Corona, large flames surrounded them, there was a loud cackle as they hungrily feasted on the trees and everything in sight. 

“Must this all end in violence? You know it won’t look good on you to be a serial killer, you had once tried to kill a boy!” Shadow cried.

“It doesn't matter now, I’m already a monster to them, you ruined my life! Now I have no choice but to end it. I will be killed anyway. There’s no way out of this for me!” Pete snapped and threw a blast of fire at him.

Shadow was about to speak then got zapped by a golden spark, he turned and faced Mel, instantly whipped out his wand. “You’re turning against me again? You traitor, I should have killed you when I had the chance!”

Without uttering a single word, a golden light burst from her wand and lead directly to him. There were blasts of amber and gold lights, Shadow raised his hand and swirled around his head about to strike a blow to her.

“Expelliarmus!” Mel shouted, her former master automatically dropped the source of his power. He bent down to pick it up, but she had beaten him to it. “Flippio!”

Shadow was blown off his feet and thrown back a few metres, he sprung on his feet and raced over towards them.

She was so focused on him that she did not realise Shadow’s most loyal followers, Hans, behind her until he grabbed her waist, he was tall, athletic build, pale, long black hair that covered half of his face.

“If you kill Shadow, I will kill this traitor, two words that is all it will take,” he hissed as he pressed his wand against her neck.

Peter had frozen, he told her to get away, he could not hurt him without hurting her, she was trapped, he shook his head, no he was not in a cage or chained this time, he was bigger than them, he had more power than they had. “If you dare harm her I’ll burn you to ashes!” He raised his hand and flames appeared. They danced gracefully on his palm.

“It’s fine, Peter, I can handle myself, focus on him!” Mel cried.

Peter stared the man down. “Do you really want to go down that road?”

Hans did not reply, just tightened his hold on her.

“Let her go, Hans!” Shadow shouted. “You’re not helping! I need him to calm down! You’ll make him worse holding his girlfriend hostage!”

Pete growled as he glared at him and moved closer. “You can’t calm me down… We have passed the point of that!”

Shadow gasped and backed away. “Come on now, Peter, you’re not a killer.”

“First time for everything, it doesn't matter now... Everyone hates me, but you know what? I hate myself to, ” Peter said. “I could have backed out at any time, but no I carried on following you like a bloody idiot!”

“They have always hated you, what would be the point in trying to be nice when they have seen your true nature? I’m all you have in this world,” Shadow said.

“You just said that to make me turn against them! They had not done anything to me! Your gaslighting won’t work this time!” Peter yelled as he blasted more flames at him. “You should have helped me get back home after that accident, but you kept tagging me along!”

Shadow quivered as he was cornered, a trail of flame heading right towards him. “P-Peter stop and think about this… You don’t want to be the monster they say you are!”

Peter sighed as he closed in on him. “It’s too late, I have become my worst demon, they tried to save me, but I had pushed them away.”

“It’s not too late! You still have a chance to set things right!” Shadow cried.

Pete nodded and glared at him coldly. “I know, that’s what I am doing now.”

* * *

“Raven!” Hans cried out.

Raven coughed a few times as he helped put out part of the fire, he struggled to speak without his body kicking out nasty stuff orally. “What?… Can’t you… See… I’m a little… Busy here?”

Eva crouched on the ground with one hand touching the earth droplets of water raised to form a wave and extinguished the rest of the fire in seconds, she brought herself to her feet and turned to the wizards behind her. “Where is Shadow?”

“Peter is attacking Shadow is unable to bring him under control!” Hans cried.

Raven breathed out a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Not again.”

A mushroom-shaped cloud exploded in the sky, in that instant they were swept off their feet, landed flat on their back, Raven pulled himself up and stared at the sickening inky black cloud as it emerged in the sky.

“Oh, no!” The man gasped, Peter had just unleashed hell, there was a lot more fire, he grabbed his wand and apparated to the scene, his wife, Eva and Hans followed, they were shadowed in the darkness behind them.

“Peter… I am your friend… The only one you have in this terrible world,” Shadow said in a soft voice, the blast had knocked him to the ground. He failed to hide his nerves as he was absolutely petrified of the ex solider with fire powers that turned against him again and could not intimidate.

“You don’t deserve to live!” Pete growled as he closed in on him.

Raven had stepped out to save their leader again, but Ivy grabbed his arm and shook her head.

“You can’t save him this time, Raven… If you do, you will get burnt to,” Ivy whispered.

“Not if I petrify him first,” Raven said, he pulled his arm away and moved towards them, his wand at the ready. “Pertifi-“

“Listen… It was the others who are the real enemy. It was their fault; it was their idea!” Shadow pleaded.

Raven paused; he could not quite believe what he had just heard; their leader was throwing them under the bus to save his ass? He wanted to give up this wild goose chase a long time ago, but he was so stubborn he refused to let it go, he frowned and lowered his wand, he glanced over his shoulder and the others shown the same expression of hurt and anger.

“Why would I believe you now? Everything you have told me was a lie!” Peter growled he threw another blast at him.

Shadow dodged it then jumped on Peter knocking him on his back, on top of him like when he had force-fed him the sleep potion. He panted heavily as he got in his face. “You had lost before you began lad, flawed by your stupidity just like your father!” He grabbed the Fire Stone and tried to pull it out, but the opal was stuck to him like glue.

Peter growled and snarled at him like a furious lion, last time he was in this position he was in distress and exhausted, he was still not of ‘sound mind’, but he was better than he was then. He gasped and squeaked as he had Shadow’s hand clamped over his throat, he thought if he killed him, he would be able to get the stone, Peter closed his eyes for a moment and thought at least he would get one thing right in his crap, pathetic life, he grabbed onto Shadow’s wrist which literally burnt up.

“AHH!” Shadow shrieked as his power had undone all of the Phoenix’s work, he instantly released Pete and backed away, he held his damaged hand, it was practically cremated. “AHH! You freak! Raven, Ivy, Eva, don’t just stand there help me!”

The three of them snickered as they approached.

“Oh, friends? I thought we were the enemy!” Ivy said with a cackled laugh.

“That’s what I heard,” Raven said then glanced at the water girl, who was the only one who could stop Peter. “What do you think, Eva?”

Eva grinned evilly. “You’re on your own, here… It’s time we had a new ruler anyway, you have lost your touch.”

Peter sprung up onto his feet and threw another blast at the ground this time the trail was more significant and much more fierce, he failed to avoid it in time as it hit his legs, he crumpled clumsily onto the ground, his appearance reversed by many years, his smooth light skin turned saggy older man’s. “What have you done?” He shrieked as he pulled his hood over his head; he could not have anyone see him like this. “What have you done?”

Pete panted heavily as he had fallen on his knees, he did not know why but his heart was going too fast, his chest ached, his vision became a blurry mess, he felt boiling which was not helped by the inferno surrounding them. He could about make out Mel’s figure as she rushed towards them, she stood firmly between him and the dying villain. She aimed her wand at him and coldly recited the most deadly curse invented.

“Avarda Kedavra.”

There was a blast of green light, and The Shadow Man was no more, Melanie smirked as she had seen the light leave his eyes. “Great job, Peter, you knocked him down enough for me to easily finish him off… It turns out I didn’t need the Phoenix Power after all.” She kicked him onto his back and was surprised to see him in almost a skeletal state; he was not as young as he looked, he had been using the phoenix power to cheat death and gain eternal youth. She snarled as though he was the most disgusting thing she had seen in her life, she could not believe she had wasted so much time following this guy, it felt great that she had finally overthrown him, she glanced down at her womb area where her baby was hopefully still forming. She sighed as she thought was this seriously the life she wanted her child to live in? A criminal using their talents for evil? She shook her head, no… It was not, taking over the Serpents was not what she desired anymore, she was going to go away and start a new life for herself and her child, there was just one more thing to take care of… Disposing of him. She turned around, expecting Peter to do the cremation, but he was not there. “Peter?” Mel turned again a frantic panic grew inside her as she remembered what he had said about killing himself after getting rid of him. “Peter!” She cried as she ran across to the other side where she had seen Pete on the same bridge he had used in his last attempt, he held onto the top and stared at the flowing river below, likely thinking back on what he could remember of his life. She dashed over to him and grabbed his arm, tears streamed down her face as she stared at him. “Peter, no! Please don’t do this… Please!”

Peter breathed out a heavy sigh as he turned away from the barrier when Mel released his arm, he hugged her and kissed her cheek for the final time. “Take care of yourself okay, don’t make the same stupid mistakes I did... I hope the child grows into a better person than I had.”

Mel gasped, she knew this day would soon come, but she could not bear it, she shook her head. “I-I can’t go through this without you!”

“You can, you will be a great mother now without Shadow and The Serpents in your life,” Pete said. “Find a nice place for yourself and be careful who you trust… Hopefully, you will find a guy that can give you a healthy and stable relationship.”

“I don’t want another guy. You’re the father of this child! You can’t just leave it before it is even born!” Mel cried.

Pete shook his head. “If I stayed alive, I would not get to be in the child’s life anyway… T-This stone is killing me… My chest is aching… I’m a danger to others and myself… It has to be this way.” He moved away from her, then climbed up on the barrier. He coldly stared at the river.

“Peter!” Mel screamed as he jumped, she tried to grab him but missed. “Peter!” She panted heavily as she saw him go down, she looked left and right in a panic. She did not know how to swim. “Help! Help!” She screamed but got no reply. “Somebody! Anyone! Please!”

Her heart sunk as she had seen him drift further away, she had taken a deep breath, it was risky, she could also drown, and their baby would die along with their parents, but she could not see a future worth living without Peter, she had no other choice since Raven was not around. She climbed up onto the barrier and jumped. She burst out of the water panting heavily, she wiped the water out of her eyes to see how far away he was, not too far, he had not reached the waterfall yet, she went back down and attempted to swim which was a struggle, she swallowed more water than she should have. The panic made it difficult for her to breath. Her limbs moved frantically as she tried to figure out how to move forward. She had to be quick before it became too much.

* * *

Cassandra, Sam and Woodlock had returned from their search around New Corona for Harry.

“I’m sure we will find him soon, he needs to know that Charlie is past saving,” Cassandra said.

Sam nodded. “Uh-huh… I hope he does not end up in Shadow’s clutches like Melanie… He had coerced her into staying with him after he ‘rescued’ her.”

“Nice job with those bogarts, Samuel!” Felspar said as he waved to him.

Sam nodded and waved back. “You’re welcome, but it was not just me, Lance made a difference with his song.”

“Oh, yeah that made me feel so pumped up as the kids say!” Felspar exclaimed then wandered off.

“Why would he want Harry? What could he gain from him?” Cassandra asked.

“He is a skilled wizard, especially in charms, excellent with potions,” Woodlock said. “I can see him taking great advantage of that, creating a more powerful potion to make Peter more aggressive.”

Cassandra nodded. She could see his point.

“Cassandra!”

She jumped at the sound of Stan’s voice, surprised he remembered her name this time and recognised her. He was steadily improving with his short term memory, the long side of it was still low, sadly.

“Are you okay?” Stan asked. “We were so afraid you had been kidnapped when you went missing earlier.”

Cassandra nodded. “Yes, I’m fine… I was helping Sam look for Harry. He has gone after the second Phoenix Flower.”

“Oh,” Stan looked blankly as though this was the first time he had heard of it, his memory was badly disjointed, he could only vaguely remember the past week. “What kind of flower is that?”

Cassandra’s eyes widened, she was surprised he could not remember that day, the time she, Varian and Charlie had brought him back to life, she was also concerned about how he could carry on being a guard with his mental state. “It is a magical flower that can heal just about anything but still has limits. It cannot completely reverse brain damage which is your problem, replace body parts or resurrect the dead after several hours.”

“Oh right,” Stan said, though he still looked confused.

Cass sighed as she ran a hand through her hair, how could she put this in a way he would understand? “Those who either swallow a part of the flower or have its power passed to them, keep the Phoenix’s power, which is what makes it different to the Sun Drop.”

Stan looked more puzzled. “Sun drop? The sun doesn’t drop anything… That would be bad as its just a giant fireball.”

Cass shook her head. This was going to be a long day, she glanced at Woodlock, wondering if he could explain it better, he just sighed, he did not have the energy to go over it again.

“Cassandra!” A female voice cried out.

Cassandra sighed again. She turned to see Megan and her dad rushing over to her.

“Cassandra!” Her father shouted out. “Don’t disappear on us like that! I thought they-“

“I was trying to help Sam find his brother,” Cass said as she held her hands up. “Harry is the one who is missing!”

“You could have gone missing to, didn’t I mention that they can reappear and disappear in seconds?” Meg said and breathed an exasperated sigh. “You should have told me!”

“I didn’t get a chance. You were frozen in fear of that boggart… I think The Shadow Man was a bit preoccupied at the time.”

“If he was you were fortunate, but even then you are not safe… He has followers in all seven Kingdoms they would have gathered up by now, just because he is busy does not mean they all are,” Meg said.

* * *

In the castle, Captain Eugene overlooks the horizon from the balcony with his fiancé and new Queen, he turned around and leaned on the barrier. 

“Okay, Pete is probably going to attack New Corona… Fantastic,” Eugene said with a heavy sigh, the magical guard had dropped in numbers, Charlie was not the only one who had suddenly died apparently from suicide despite not having depression in the past, as far as their Captain knew.

“I don’t think he will… I don’t believe he was responsible for the attacks in Old Corona,” Rapunzel said then breathed a heavy sigh. “Maybe he was mind-controlled by that dark wizard or badly drugged. This is way out of character for him. I think he is just afraid as we are right now… As I am.”

Eugene looked at her with a saddened expression, he would like to say there was a chance to save him, but after hearing Cassandra’s and Varian’s testimonies, it looked like he was sadly past that point, he was no longer human… He had become a demon. “Rapunzel… This isn’t like how it was with Varian and Cassandra, Peter-“

Rapunzel gazed at the ground with a look of sadness in her eyes. She wanted so badly to have that ‘happy ever after, after all’ ending where everything was okay, and people felt better about themselves, but it seemed like that was not going to be possible. “I know… Destroyed half of the kingdom, tortured Varian, burnt Cassandra’s arm… I can’t help but think… There’s more to it than we think.”


	63. A Phoenix, A Serpent and Poison Ivy

Back at the campsite, well, what little was left of it anyway, all of their tents had burned down along with the occupants, some had the misfortune of getting caught in the blaze, either injured or dead like Marcus and Shadow, but there was still enough for them to carry on… The question was, how? Now they were suddenly without a leader.

“What do we do now?” Raven asked as he glanced at the corpse of his former master. He had searched him for anything valuable that they could sell on the backstreet. He had found some kinds of nice jewellery. He twirled the old wand in his hand. “Melanie has taken his wand since she was the one who had given the last killing blow. It belongs to her; where have they gone anyway?”

Ivy shrugged. “She has probably gone to join Peter in jumping off the bridge… Oh well, at least she will be out of our way; a stray wand is useless, just throw it out.”

Raven sighed. It was a shame she was a great witch until she had lost her mind, although that was mostly down to him, hitting her with the memory charm. He had really liked her, so he was angry with her for taking things too far with Peter, but he felt disheartened she had done that.

“Melanie has become so soft it’s pathetic, she had even," Ivy said, then made a gagging motion as though the thought of it sickened her. "Mated with him, out of all of them she chose him… Foolish girl, I will search for Peter and take back the Fire Stone.”

“Ivy, the Fire Stone isn’t like the others; we are purebloods. It won’t accept us; that was why Shadow could not remove it from him,” Raven said.

“Well, it will be desperate for a new host, so maybe it won’t be so picky… I did not intend to use it myself; I’ve already got Earth,” Ivy said.

Raven frowned, rather surprised she did not want to keep him, curious about what she had in mind. “Who would you use?”

Ivy shrugged. “I'll find someone better... Peter is unreliable like Melanie.”

Her sneaky companion snake Kara, slithered up next to her. This beast was a huge boa constrictor; though she had not always been a reptile, she had become a snake due to a blood curse. She had smelled the corpse but turned away; he did not have enough meat on his bones to be worth eating. “Hmm, suppose not… Don’t worry; there’s another person with more flesh you can eat, two actually.”

Kara stuck her tongue out and hissed as she followed her owner to the river. She was hungry for some flesh.

Mel’s heart skipped beats as the horrible taste of the river water slipped into her. She began to feel tired, disoriented and dizzy. There was a throbbing pain in her head. She kicked hard and moved her arms around; she slowly moved forwards. It was going to be hard to find him without being able to see him in the water. She quickened her pace; it seemed hopeless as there was empty space around her the further down she went. Maybe she was too late; he had already gone down. She thought it was a mistake sleeping together that day. She pushed herself harder and had finally found him; she felt his ankle right in front of her. She had forced herself up and grabbed him with one arm and hoisted him back onto the bank, then pulled herself up. She collapsed onto the grass and panted heavily, that was close, and she was fortunate not to have drowned. Put a hand over her womb; she hoped their baby was okay. She glanced at Peter, who was laid on his side; he was extremely pale, cold, and his chest had stopped moving. “Oh, no... No, no!”

She threw herself over him and wailed like a wounded dog. She was stuck without her Phoenix Power. She stared down at him as the Fire Stone turned into a light shade of pink. It was dying along with him. She sat up, rested one hand on his chest and pulled out her wand. Maybe there was another way to resurrect him if she got enough air into him and restarted his heart. “Spectrum Sempra.”

A thin crimson beam of light shot out of her wand and cut the top of his armour, severely weakened. It felt odd to see his torso again; he was very skinny, but the lack of warmth in his hand had given her chills. It would not be possible for her to do this with skin-tight clothing on. She tilted his head back to open his airway, interlocked her fingers and pressed down on the middle of his chest to a steady beat. She quickly moved to his face, blocked his nose with one hand, held his chin with the other, locked her lips over his and given him three rescue breaths. She had given him more chest compressions, her brow furrowed in frustration. “Come on! Don’t you go and die on me now, dickhead!” She had repeated the process then picked up her wand. A golden light emerged and hit him square in the chest; he jolted but did not breathe. She tried it again, nothing.

She groaned as she punched the ground and started panting again. She felt sick, a bit light-headed, her chest was also sore as her heart rate spiked, her blood pressure sky high. She zapped him again and froze. She desperately looked out for any signs of life. "Flower, share your power with me... H-Heaven's light- Help me heal," She could not recall the words to the incantation. Her memory was not as good as it used to be. She scooped him up and hugged him tightly.

"KAA!"

In the sky, there was a scarlet and golden giant swan-like bird. He had massive wings that glowed on the inside, a phoenix? They were real creatures? She thought they were mythical. She watched in amazement as he swooped down to the ground. She trembled with anxiety as the bird approached them. She lowered Pete, so his head rested on her lap to allow the bird to access him. The phoenix put his head over Pete's chest, a tear dropped and landed on his heart, the tear turned into an amber lily-shaped mist, beams of gold and red light circled them for five seconds then disappeared.

Mel gasped as she glanced at him and swore she had seen his chest move. She leaned over his face and heard shaky breaths; He was still unconscious, but he was alive, and that was the main thing. A beaming smile appeared on her face. Tears streamed over her cheeks as she faced the Phoenix as it had lifted off again. "Thank you!"

She pulled her wand from her hip, held onto his hand and apparated, just in time to avoid her ex-best friend and her pet snake.

Ivy walked along with the bank searching for them but had failed to see any sign. “Oh, we’ve missed them... Oh well, not to fear, Kara, for now, you can snack on something else.”

Kara hissed and flicked her tongue as she raised, staring at the end of the line where the waterfall was then reluctantly followed her human friend.

* * *

In seconds they appeared in another faraway land, deep in the woods, there was a lone tower where the rest of the castle had gone remained a mystery, it was quite a tall one, the tower itself was a murky grey but white underneath all the dirt as it had been left unattended for many years ivy had wrapped around it only sparing little spaces. Mel groaned as she carried Pete in her arms while climbing up the rickety stairs, hoping she would not lose him. He was lighter than she expected him to be. He was thinner than he was on the day they had set off to Amestria. How did he lose weight so quickly? Was this the stone’s doing? She shook her head and focused on getting up the stairs safely. She still had pain from the crucio curse, soaked, wet and exhausted. After a while, they finally made it to the top. She laid him down on his back and knelt beside him. She sighed as she rubbed his cheek. He had gone into cold water shock and almost died, they were lucky there was a phoenix nearby to bring him back, but he was still not out of the woods. The stone was still stuck to him and turned to a mid-tone red and the top half of his armour regenerated. She tried to pull it out, but it would not budge. It looked like it would not be easy to cut out either. She did not have many blankets to wrap him up with, just her magic cape. She hoped he would pull through again. She did not make any sense; what made her care so much about him now? Why has her character changed completely? She was nothing like she used to be. She absolutely hated the person she had become. She was sure they would lose the baby, but another part of her thought maybe it was for the best. They were not fit to parent after everything they had done with Shadow.

“Ahh... Ahh... Uh... Nah... Ah, ah.”

Mel jumped at the sound of his voice. Was he waking up? The groans worried her; he was in pain again. His breathing was still heavy. She supposed it would take time to settle. Zig-zag lights shot out from the stone. He mumbled the same noises over and over.

“Peter!”

He coughed a few times heavily and panted as his lungs tried to grab as much air as possible. There was also an aching pain in the middle of his chest. “Ahh... Ahh... Nah... Ah.”

Mel carefully shifted him onto his right side, yelped a couple of times as small red beams hit her; it worried her that he was still out cold. She picked up her cape, folded it up and slipped it under his head. She wished she could get the armour off as it was tight, making it harder for him to breathe. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at his collar. “It’s okay, Peter... I’ve got you... Just hold on.”

She had thought of going to New Corona for help, but no one would, after what they had done... He would be chucked into a cell and left to take its course. She would probably be whisked away to Wizarding Prison at the Lost Sea just for being a Serpent. After about five minutes, the shaking had stopped. He panted heavily as he came around. His chest still felt astonishingly tight.

“M-Mel.”

She gasped. He had woken up. She smiled as she stroked his damp cheek.

“I couldn’t let you die. You don’t deserve that fate.” Mel said.

Peter sighed. She should have gone away when he told her to. “M-Mel... You... shouldn’t... have-“

Mel shook her head and placed a hand over his cheek. “It’s okay. We are safe here. We can live our lives freely, no more Serpents, running away from the guards... Shadow literally messing with our heads! We will be able to raise our child in peace!”

“No... We can’t. We’re both criminals... Wanted ones at that,” he muttered as he pulled himself up and looked through the window. “W-What is it with you… And towers?”

Mel sighed. “I guess it’s a cat thing to like to hide in small spaces and high up.”

Pete narrowed his eyes at her. What was she on about? What have cats got to do with- He shook his head. That was not important right now. “Where are we anyway?”

“In Koto... It’s as far away from Corona as we can get, although I would have preferred Amestria; that would be one of the first places they would look for us,” Mel said. “Shadow may be gone, but Ivy is still around; she will have taken over The Serpents.”

“Yeah... This is not over. You should have just gone alone as I told you to... I- I did awful things. I love you, Mel, but I can’t just stay here and act as nothing happened. It’s not fair on the victims!” Pete cried. “I don’t even know the way to Corona now.”

Mel sighed. “It‘s not like it’s entirely your fault... Shadow had drugged you, probably casted a spell when you were not looking to control you.”

“He did give me a potion, but that’s beside the point... I went ahead with it even before that... I thought you were sick and wanted to help you... That's why I got mad when I thought you had cheated on me... I had hurt people... Destroyed their home... I-I can’t carry on like this,” Pete said.

“If Shadow hadn’t drugged you, it wouldn’t have gone that far... You are not the evil monster he was. You’re better than that,” Mel said.

“I’m not! If I were, I wouldn’t have gotten myself involved with him in the first place. The kid would be much better off without me in their life! I would fuck it up just like my dad did!” Pete cried.

“No, Peter, no... You won’t encourage them to take a magical stone and get into the trouble you had... It’s not too late to change!” Mel said.

“Think about it, Mel! I had done much worse things than you. Even here, people will be going around searching for us. The longer I wait it out, the worse it will get... I-I have to go!”

Mel sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. “She was a close friend of Shadow to. She will carry out what he had failed to do. Her cruelty has no limits... Not that I have much room to talk about that.”

Pete frowned. He did not follow what she was getting at. “What do you mean?”

Mel turned away from him and turned her gaze to the sheet underneath them. “I have been such an awful bitch for... I don't even know how long. Marcus said I have tortured people and removed their memories but never killed anyone... I can’t remember hardly anything there’s this-”

“Fog... Yeah, I get that to,” Pete cut in. “I wish he had just left our heads alone!”

“Yeah... I’m still losing it,” Mel said. “I can’t remember what happened last week.”

Pete moved away from the window and knelt beside the trap door, but just as he was about to open it, Mel had grabbed his arm.

“Peter... If you go back there, you will be killed!” She cried as she tried to pull him away.

“If that’s what they decide to do, then so be it. That’s the least I deserve for what I had done,” Pete said.

Mel shook her head as she touched his arm. “No, no, it isn’t; you have done more good than bad in your life. You had helped bring down The Shadow Man! It’s not-“

“Too late? You think I can just go up to the Captain and King and say hey, sorry, I burnt half of the kingdom down, I threatened to kill your friends, but I’m good now... It’s-It’s complicated. I’ve made things so much harder for myself!”Pete said.

“I know, you will never be accepted back in Corona... That’s why I have taken us here where we can just start over, luckily. Our baby had survived... At least I think it has. I haven’t been bleeding, so that’s a good sign,” Mel said with a sigh. “This one is a tough nut. After being hit with the crucio curse and being in cold water, they're still hanging on.”

Pete groaned as he put a hand over his face. “You shouldn’t have taken the risk of killing yourself and the baby. Just let me go... I- I know you want me here with you, but I can’t... I’m too far gone.”

Mel shook her head. “You’re not... You nearly were, though. You had destroyed Shadow. You saved them!”

“I thought I had saved a little girl to, but I was the one who started the fire!” Pete cried. “This was all my fault! I am the monster they say I am!”

Mel sighed as she hugged him. “No, Peter... No... Just stay here until things blow over... It isn’t safe to go out there... Ivy, The Serpents might try to capture you and use you all over again... They might kill the-the baby and me.”

Pete groaned as he rested on her shoulder. “I had set the camp on fire... I should have killed more than two guys.”

“Unlucky for you, they have someone with The Water Stone on their side. She had put out most of the fire,” Mel said.

Pete frowned. None of this made any sense again. Shadow was a guy who could not stick to the one plan. “There’s one for water to? Why would he-”

Mel shook her head, then readjusted her position to move her legs to one side. “I don’t know... His plans never made much sense to me. A long time ago, there were stones with elemental powers, earth, water, air and well... Fire, I don't remember the whole story, but he wanted to bring them all together to have at his disposal,” Mel said. “As you know, Ivy is Earth, Raven is air, Eva who went to fire training with you to keep you from blowing the place up with her powers to control water. Rising it from the ground or any other source like a river.”

Pete sighed and moved away from her. “I can’t just keep running away from it. I need to face up to what I have done and take the consequences no matter how... Severe.” He wished he could stay with Mel, see her through the pregnancy and raise his child, but it looked like he had lost his chance of that by destroying half of Corona. No way he would be released. It would be straight to the gallows. “Melanie, I have to go back to Corona... I don't even know the way there now!”

Mel sighed as she bowed her head and put a hand over her womb. “Peter, please... I need your help... We need your help.”

Pete bowed his head as he held the trap door up. He glanced over his shoulder at her. She was crying. She was in such a bad way. He had a bad feeling they would lose the baby. What more punches could her body possibly take? Even if by some magical miracle the baby survived full term, she still needed help. He sighed as he closed the door and turned to her. “Alright, I’ll see you through the pregnancy... How long will it take?”

“Well, it takes nine months all being well... It is October now, right?” Mel said as she put her arms around his shoulders.

Pete sighed again. He did not know what day it was, let alone which month they were in. “I guess... It looks like autumn.”

“Then our baby will come sometime in July,” Mel said and put on a small smile.

Pete was happy for her, but at the same time, the guilt for destroying Corona was painful. A tear slid down his face. He raised his head as Mel put a hand over his cheek.

“Don’t worry... Things will work out, we started this thing together, and that's how we’ll finish this,” Mel said as she pulled him into a hug. “I promise.”

Pete sighed. He found it hard to believe anything anymore. “You sure?”

“Positive... I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted,” Mel said as she knelt then laid on the floor. “I know it’s not ideal, but it will have to do... For now.”

Pete looked at his girlfriend, worried. She had just been in cold water, trying to swim and rescue him. She did look very worn out. He moved closer to her. She looked pale and shivered in her damp dress. “M-Mel... You need to change... You’ll get sick if you stay in that... Well, you and the baby.”

Mel grumbled the odd curse word under her breath and groaned. She felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. 

“Oh, Mel... You shouldn’t have,” Pete sighed as he put a hand over his face. It might have been too late. He reached out to her and gently rubbed her cheek. “I-Is-”

“I don’t feel so good... I left my bag at the camp... Crap, ” she muttered as she ran a hand through her hair.

Pete looked around for something, anything. He noticed her magic cape on the floor. “Here, use this,” He whispered and draped it over her. “There.”

“Thanks,” Mel mumbled, then waved a hand towards herself. “Come here.”

Pete scooched in closer to her; he felt sore in the chest as the Fire Stone sparked and faltered.

Mel picked up a bit of the cape and rubbed it over his face, neck, careful not to agitate the rash further and the stone. It may not be as powerful as it was, but it could still work. “There’s a fireplace over there. You can try lighting up.”

“Okay,” Pete sighed, he wanted to destroy it, but at least he could put it to some good use once it was dried up. He opened the window to let the fresh air through, then turned to the fireplace, which still had some wood left. He raised his hand and set off a small fire. He moved back to Mel and lay down beside her; it saddened him to see her shiver from the river's coldness and the air. It would take a while for her to warm up. He put an arm around her to help. It was heartwarming to see her snuggle up with him and drift to sleep. He kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair which, unlike before, was tangled and knotted as she had not brushed it for several days. He hoped she and their child would be okay. He breathed a heavy sigh as he thought back on the night he begged her to kill him with the killing curse. He had become angry with himself for not helping Mel settle sooner, find her somewhere safe to live and raise their child, find someone to help her in his place before he destroyed himself. They were his responsibility. He should not have just left her there to fend them off on her own. He thought he was lucky he had another chance after she had risked it all to save him.

* * *

The next day, things seemed to have calmed down in New Corona, most appeared to be at ease, having not heard a squeak about Peter or The Serpents, but most were not willing to let their guard down just yet.Rapunzel rubbed her temples as she felt a demon of a headache coming on. She was dreading the monthly interviews with her subjects, anxious about becoming a Queen for real. Her coronation was going to be coming up tomorrow. What if they got attacked again?

“Geeze, this place can’t catch a break, can it? I mean, we just had a demon attack and Cassandra, now Pete the ex guard had turned himself into a fire demon!” Eugene said as he waltzed into her bedroom.

“He is not a demon, Eugene. He’s still human!” Rapunzel cried.

“Rapunzel, Varian had told me all about it… I don’t know what the hell he is, but he is no longer a normal human. He has to be stopped!” Eugene argued. “We just have to figure out how crossbow arrows won’t work with the magical armour or any of our weapons… We’ll have to use magic.”

Rapunzel sighed, she did not want any trouble, but sadly, it looked like there was going to be lots of it. Just as she was about to exit the room, Joe appeared.

“Your Highness, I know it’s not the time for the interviews yet, but you have to come to the throne room. The people are going berserk!” Joe cried.

Rapunzel groaned. Memories of the last time they stormed in came to mind. They were panicking over Pete turning evil on the day he ran away. “Oh, no.”

The guard was right. People from both New and Old Corona were gathered in the throne room, demanding to see Rapunzel. Terrified that the other half of Corona would be destroyed. Guards had come out to try and hold them back from getting too close to her.

“Where is, Peter?” Ralph, a short man with a big bushy moustache, yelled.

“We don’t know yet… We’re still looking,” Stan replied.

“You better hurry up!” Ralph shouted. “Before he comes and destroys this half of the kingdom!”

“Old Corona is destroyed!” Another man yelled.

“The crops are ruined!” Old farmer McDonald cried. “He wrecked them with the fire!”

The tension raised more people shouted and screamed out at her. The young woman was unsure where even to start. She sighed and tried in vain to calm them down. “Everyone, I know this is terrifying but please calm down!”

Mustang sighed as he pulled out his wand and pointed it at his throat. “QUIET!”

Instantly everyone was silenced, although many stared at the wizard in fear. They had come to have a strong dislike for magic. After the events of the past few months, who could blame them? It was bad enough with rocks popping up everywhere now. They had the threat of massive fires to deal with.

“Okay, I know it is hard, but I need all of you to remain calm. Shouting and yelling at me will not help, yes, this year has been an awful one, but we will get through it. I do not know what is happening with Peter. My men have searched all over the kingdom and have not seen any sign of him,” Rapunzel said.

“I could send a message across the Seven Kingdoms, Your Highness,” Nigel whispered as he held up a quill and scroll. “Incase he has somehow fled the country… He would not last long in Ingvar, I can tell you, their borders are very tough to get through.”

Rapunzel nodded. “Yes, that would be helpful, Nigel.”

“Are you sure you have looked everywhere?” Roy called out.

“Yes, we have searched around Old Corona, the mainland and Saison; he has likely fled the country with Shadow Man and The Serpents,” Eugene said.

“You should have stopped him from getting out of Corona!” Monty yelled. “He’s going to wreak more havoc!”

“I know. We are trying our best here,” Eugene said.

“Well, if you can’t even stop him, we’re doomed!” Mrs Crowley grumbled. “You forget we are an island. We have plenty of water around us to put out a fire!”

Rapunzel breathed out a heavy sigh as the people started shouting again. “W-we do not know what The Serpents are planning… W-We… Just have to stay vigilant and be ready to fight when the time comes… I hope that it does not come to it, but if it does, we will need to work together and fight for Corona!”

Unlike last time her cheer did not so easily convince the people as they had been with Frederic. It had never worked out that way. It had only taken minutes for Zhan Tiri to knock them all down. Hence, they still felt fearful and angry, so they continued shouting out at her.

“It’s no good us just hanging about like sitting ducks! The Royal Guard is supposed to protect us, not try to fix up the mess after!” Roy shouted.

“Stop him from attacking us in the first place!” Ralph yelled then others chimed in.

“You’re clearly not trying hard enough! It’s been a month since he ran off!”

“What happened to King Frederic? Why isn’t he ruling? He would have done a better job at capturing him!”

“You’re looking in all the wrong places. Stop wasting time and get him!”

“Kill him!”

“Kill him!”

“He is no longer human. He is a demon!”

“You plan just to wait and see? Play it by here? That worked so well for your father, didn’t it? You can’t just let him attack us first!”

“You’re going to be a rubbish Queen!”

“Booo!”

“You’re just going to stand back and let those freaks kill us all right for you; having an army of guards protecting you, us peasants have to fend for ourselves!”

Stan felt like his head was bashed against a stone wall with the throbbing pain he had, but then it strangely became numb. He felt a strange tingling sensation in his arms, hot like a roasting turkey in the iron armour despite the chilly weather. The voices became muffled, and vision blurred. He was not startled when Will touched his shoulder.

“Alright, people, that is enough! If you’re going to be abusive to Rapunzel, I will have to order the guards to escort you out!” Eugene shouted, appalled by their behaviour, but many others drowned out his voice. Are you okay?” Monty asked as he noticed the change in his expression and suddenly became pale. His breathing went faster than normal. He looked terrified at them all, which surprisingly he had not been when the scary magical creatures were around.

“I’ll get someone to check him out... Excuse us,” Will said as he tried to get past some of the people with Stan.

Eugene frowned and hopped down from the podium and followed after them into the corridor. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s got a bad head. It looks like he’s going to pass out any minute,” Will replied as he adjusted his hold on the back of his shoulder.

Eugene sighed. “Oh... The flower hasn’t completely healed him, has it?”

Will shook his head. “No... Which is unfortunate, his memory is still disjointed, his short term has been improving, but long term is still an issue.”

Eugene nodded. “Right... Hopefully, he will feel better soon.”

“Crash and burn, end this misery.”

Eugene and Will stared at each other and Stan, his eyes looked blank, and his moustache went back to black. He had a bit of red in it from the flower. What the heck was he on about? They felt like the wind had been knocked out of them and fell onto the floor. They heard other people gasping and falling over in the Throne Room to.

“S-Stan, what’s going on? W-What are you doing?” Eugene cried. He panted as if he had just run a marathon.

Stan did not reply, just completed the incantation. “Cut the ropes and let the souls go, the souls go.”

“Ah!” Will yelped as he felt a sore pain in his chest. He had started panting to.

“Stan! Stan!” Rapunzel cried as she ran towards him. “I-It’s just like the decay incantation!”

“Well noticed,” Faith grumbled and panted. “H-How... Can... We m-make it stop!”

Rapunzel sighed as she approached him. He was similar to how she was under the influence of that spell; the difference was his eyes did not turn completely black but were blank. “I won’t give up on you!”

This did not work the same way as the Sun Drop... She wracked her brain for ideas but was blank. She tried raising her voice, snapping her fingers, clapping in his face. It did not make any difference. What could have possibly triggered him to say it? If only Varian were around, she glanced at the room; she heard the people's heavy breathing in there as they fell on the ground. She went to touch his arm, but Cass stopped her.

“Hold on, Raps… It might not be safe for you since you don’t have the SunDrop Power anymore,” Cass said as she put herself between her and Stan. She touched his arm. “I believe in you.”

Instead of just snapping out of it like Rapunzel usually did, he had collapsed.

“Stan!” Cass gasped and knelt beside him.

Rapunzel sat next to her. There were times she had come close to fainting or had blackouts after a powerful spell like the Decay incantation or using the rocks. “H-How… Did he-“

“He looked bad before… That happened,” Will said.

Eugene sighed as he stood himself back up. “There’s no way he could have learnt that incantation or would use it like that… Not that there’s ever a good time for it.”

Cass sighed. Their own medics would not know what to do. She wished Harry had not gone missing, or Charlie had died. “Is there any of the magical medics left?”

“Jim, over here!” Mustang called out as he rushed over to their side. Woodlock quickly followed suit.

Jim knelt beside Stan, checked his pulse, which was more speedy than it should be. He glanced at Cassandra. “Was he blankly staring into space?”

Cass nodded. “Yeah, he looked ill before it happened… Which is odd. I thought the Phoenix-“

“It brought him back to life, but he will still have some… Issues,” Jim said. “The imperious curse can make you do things you would not ordinarily be capable of.”

“Captain, you have a rat,” David said as he stood beside Mustang.

The wizard Captain frowned deeply, misunderstanding the phrase. “What?”

“One of your men has been causing trouble,” David said bluntly as he crossed his arms. “Last night, he taunted my daughter and her friend, Megan.”

Mustang narrowed his eyes and turned defensive. “Who?”

“It was Marcus… He made a mockery out of Charlie’s death, seems a bit suspicious, don’t you think, Captain?” Cassandra said.

“Marcus is my mate. He would never do that!” A loud voice shouted out. She turned around and saw an angered Sam.

“Well, he does not seem like a good friend… I’m telling the truth!” Cass snapped. “You said so yourself. He was more likely murdered than killing himself!”

Sam shook his head furiously. “No, it can’t be him. We’ve been friends for a decade. He wouldn’t betray us like that!”

Cassandra breathed a heavy sigh. She felt a pit in her stomach as she thought back on her being that traitor friend to Rapunzel and Varian. “You will be surprised… I once told a friend to be careful who she trusted. I suppose you had already heard of the Moonstone story. I understand you are distressed about your brothers, but you need to keep calm.”

Sam breathed out an exasperated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Right… Calm… Yeah, that’s easy when my family is falling apart!”

“Samuel, stop!” Woodlock said sternly. It was not often he called him by his full name. “Miss Espinosa may be right. I’ve had suspicions about Malone. He has been looking rather shifty lately... Speaking of which, I haven’t seen him around for a while. Where was he supposed to be posted, Mustang?”

The wizard guard Captain looked angrier that they were saying one of his men was the cause of this. He shot a glare at his predecessor. “In town looking after the non-magical folk… I suggest you save the disputes for later and focus your attention on the patient!” He turned at his heel and returned to the Throne Room to check on the people.

Cass sighed. At one time, she would have blasted at him about how she had saved his brother’s life with a petal of the Phoenix Flower and stayed up late to help find his younger brother. Still, she stopped herself from getting so defensive. Perhaps this was a bad time to bring it up or could have been more sensitive, although she did not know they were friends. “I’m sorry… I guess now was not a good time to-”

Sam looked at her with a deadpan expression. He seemed like the ground was not the only thing he had fallen on in the attack that lost his left eye. He did not reply, just walked away.

“Don’t worry, I’ll deal with him later,” Woodlock said as he resumed examining him, he was surprised to hear him groan and stir. He mumbled inaudible things as he slowly came around.

“W-Wha-What just-“ Stan cringed as he awakened. He could not think straight or string a sentence together. “How?”

Woodlock sighed as he put an arm on his shoulder. “You had an episode then got hit with the imperious curse to make you recite the torture incantation.” He had gently guided him through the corridor until another member of The Aurora stopped him. He was quite tall with an athletic body type, pale, dark blue eyes, somewhere in his early to mid-thirties, he moved towards them, it had taken a while, but Woodlock recognised him. “Hans?” 

Hans nodded. “I’ve heard you have lost both medics. Fortunately for you, I can appreciate it. I am Harry’s replacement.”

Stan stared at the wizards baffled, he hoisted himself back up, but he still felt woozy. “I-I… The people… The Sweetshop man… Another guy.”

Woodlock sighed as he stood up and gently rubbed his arm. “It’s quite alright. People under the curse do sometimes get light headed after, but by the looks of things, it is not the only problem.”

“Do you mean his… Condition getting worse?” Eugene asked.

Woodlock shook his head. “Not too badly, it can be manageable with a bit of help... I suspect blood pressure had gone too high, which is understandable considering the circumstances.”

“The man is delirious. He’s not talking in any sense!” Hans said. “He must have been spiked with some potion!” 

Stan sighed as he felt hopeless. He was okay before now he was faltering. What if Captain Fitzherbert dismisses him? Where else could he go? How would he provide for his wife and child?

“Oh, I’m sorry, Stan... I shouldn’t be talking about you like you’re not here. I’m just worried... People have been calling you Stan The Fearless since you were the only one of us not bothered by the boggarts, ” Eugene said.

“Really?” Stan was surprised. People thought he was brave? Just for fighting some creepy ghosts? He had been called ‘dopey’ and ‘dumb’. They were clearly making digs at his memory problem. He looked back at Woodlock as he eased him onto the bed then had given him some water.

“Thank you for trying Woodlock, but I think he’s better off with a professional like myself,” Hans said as he had taken hold of Stan’s arm and given a side-eye glance at the former Captain.

Stan pushed Hans away and turned from them; he felt burnt out; he had not slept properly for a fortnight, he was just like a shell of who he used to be; he had gotten good at hiding his sadness but guessed he had cracked.

“Hey, what’s wrong? I’m just trying to help you!” Hans said, though his voice sounded harsher than it should have been.

“I don’t want any more lotions, potions or any of that stuff! Stop touching me!” Stan snapped.

“Woah, hey, hey, it’s okay, Stan… You don’t have to take anything if you don’t want to,” Eugene said as he put himself between them, he was shocked but also concerned by the sudden change in him. Although his memories were messy and disjointed, he was fearless, but now, he was suddenly on the edge and panicky. He hoped it was not another mood-related potion. The last thing he wanted was for him to go off the rails as well. “You can trust us, Stan… We only want to help you.”

Stan had fallen silent. He stared at Eugene. It had taken some getting used to having a different Captain when he had seen someone else in that role. He was so confused and lost. It had shaken him how he had just faltered like that. Was it going to be a one-time thing, or would the glitches be a regular occurrence? Why was it happening? He had been fine. Then he had filled up with panic; he could not see what could have possibly triggered it, the noise of shouting and yelling? Worries about his wife? This Peter they keep talking about? “How can you help me? I-I’m a wreck… I-I can’t even remember what happened last week. I keep getting people’s names mixed up… Now, this!”

Hans sighed as he tried to put on a friendly face. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll need to run some tests to see what the issue is but don’t worry. I will not harm you like the incompetent doctors you’ve had before.” He had given another sneaky glare at Woodlock, then held a hand out to him. “Come along. I understand you’re anxious, but it will be alright. Let’s just get you checked over.”

Stan was still nervous around this stranger but went along with him anyway. It looked like he did not have much choice. He sighed as he thought he might get sent back home again. He felt like a total failure. He had been healed, yet he still screwed up. The people who saved him probably wished they had just let him die.

Woodlock glared at Hans. He did not like his attitude. He was also slightly suspicious; he could not see any reasonable explanation of why he smelled smoke. If he had been at a fire incident, he would not have been available to cover for Harry. “Keep Your guard up, Captain… The Serpents are a crafty bunch. They act as a friend to your face then stab you in the back.”

Eugene nodded. “Yeah, I have been there… One time my fiancé’s fake mother literally stabbed me."

Woodlock looked at him with bewilderment; he thought his family had issues.

“Long story,” Eugene said. “The day I died but don’t worry, it’s a fun story.”

“Alright, gather around Serpents, Stefan Campos, who you all knew as Shadow has fallen!” Ivy announced as she stood in the middle of the disaster site. Some had died either from the fire, smoke or being blasted by Mel, but there were still enough of them left. They still had their members from the other seven kingdoms. “Peter had killed him… I have said many times that muggles could not be trusted, and look what happened not only had he turned on us; he had turned one of our own against us; Woodlock betrayed us as did Stefan. He threw us under the carriage to save his ass!”

“What did Mel do?” Eva asked.

“She has turned her back on us, sided with the muggles, and you know what happens to traitors?” Ivy said.

Eva nodded. “You kill them?”

“Yes, and unlike with Stefan, there will be no second chances, is that clear?” Ivy asked.

“Yeah!” The crowd responded loudly.

Ivy smirked. “Fantastic. On the plus side, the King is sick and weak; it's time he pays for the pain he inflicted on our community, something Stefan had lost sight of when pursuing the flower for his selfish gains. when we attack, Corona will fall for good!”

The other Serpents cheered. Ivy relished in the praise and attention, she thought she would have to put up a fight against Melanie to gain leadership, but it was free for her to take. She had let out a burst of cackling laughter; maybe it will be a happy ever after for the villains after all.


	64. Goodbye

Stan was still on edge; he could not understand it; he was fine before, he had no problem fighting the creepy boggarts or any dark magic, but today he was a wreck, much to Hans’ frustration; he would not stay still. He persistently rocked back and forth; he had removed his chest plate and shirt upon his request as he faffed about checking his heart rate and such.

“You need to rest, Mr Bader. Your blood pressure is sky high which is odd as you appear to be very healthy. This could be a sign that something is going wrong with you but don't worry, I’ll help you out,” Hans said. He rummaged through his seemingly bottomless bag as it fitted in things bigger than that and load of stuff that would not normally be able to go in all at once. He pulled out a smaller paper bag that contained a needle, followed by a small glass container.

Stan’s eyes widened slightly. He had no idea what that was. He did not trust this stranger. A part of him was screaming to run, but he had just frozen up like a spooked deer.

Hans sighed as he moved closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s nothing to be afraid of. First of all, I need you to keep still, no rocking... This will help you relax.” He backed away to pour a numbing potion into the needle. “I will also need a sample of your blood to figure out the problem, you will feel a bit sore, but that's normal.”

“H-How would that- Ah!” Stan did not get a chance to finish as the needle was jabbed into his arm. He groaned as he glared at him.

“Hey, I’m only trying to help you; this is better than pumping you with underdeveloped drugs; that is what had gotten you into bother before, wasn’t it?” Hans said as he pressed a piece of cloth on the cut then disposed of it. “I will inform the Captain you will be staying here for observation and give you a chance to rest.”

His words went over Stan’s head; he became numb, his muscles were forced to loosen up, his shoulders drooped, he fell onto his side. His heart rate and breathing had slowed down; his mind became blank as it succumbed to the drug he had tricked him into taking.

Hans smirked as he watched him pass out again. “That was easier than anticipated, but with you, the youngest Woodlock and the rest of the phoenixes out of action, they will be doomed; if I withdraw your powers, you will both die. I just have to figure out how to do that.”

* * *

“I am really, very sorry, everyone… Uh, are you all okay?” Rapunzel called out as she returned to the throne room where people were had just been trying to catch their breath.

“W-What’s wrong with Stan? He looked awful,” Monty cried as he made a beeline for her.

Rapunzel and Eugene shared an awkward glance. “Um... He was not feeling very well, but he has medical attention now.”

Monty sighed. “He hasn’t been himself lately, very quiet and withdrawn... Although the magic flower had brought him back to life, I think he still has a problem in his head.”

Rapunzel sighed; they had decided to keep it a secret that the curse had come from Stan. The last thing they wanted was for them all to turn on him; it would take a while for them to get over the damage Pete had done with the Fire Stone. “I will talk with the Magical Guard to get to the bottom of this and have it resolved as soon as possible!”

There were some mumbles and grumbles amongst the people; most had decided to leave the castle before anything else happened.

“What about that guard? He looked very weird. Has another one gone rotten too?” Ralf shouted out.

“No, no, no... He had a panic attack, that’s all; seeing you all shouting and yelling had triggered it,” Rapunzel said.

“Well, he should get a different job then; it won’t be much good if he gets nervous; we are rightly angry with the guard's incompetence! They had the chance to capture Hayes but failed!” Ralph shouted.

“Hey, don't talk about people like that; Stan’s not a machine; you have no idea what he’s been through!” Cass snapped. “When the boggart Petes and stuff were terrorising people, he had fought them off for you; it didn't affect him because his emotions had been off now they are all crashing onto him! He was trying to be strong for his wife and unborn child because they depend on him. I know myself it is not healthy to bottle up emotions, there comes the point where you crack up, and for Stan, that was today! Rapunzel is doing her best; you screaming in her face does not help; Frederic would not be any better; when he intervened, he made things worse! He had threatened to send him to a mental asylum, not saying he was right to burn Old Corona, but if The King had been sensible and let Eugene handle it, chances are he would not have joined The Serpents!”

Ralph was speechless; the way she spoke to him was a shock, he had attempted to argue more, but words failed him again. He glanced at Eugene, and Rapunzel then walked out. The other men behind him followed suit.

“Thank you for standing up for me, Cassandra; The people have been even angrier than last time... It’s frustrating as I had tried so hard to defend him from my father, Nigel and the other guards, then he went and did that, which makes it look like they were right... He is a bad guy,” Rapunzel replied. “I’m not even sure he is redeemable.”

Cass nodded. “Yeah... It will be tough in his case; I mean, he is a suspect for a guard’s murder; he was there when one of the witches tortured Varian; then burnt my arm, unlike when he killed Ruediger. He was not on amind trap drug.”

Rapunzel sighed. “I know... Eugene thinks he’s too far gone, but I don't know... I still want to believe that the real him is in there, that he could turn things around,” Rapunzel said.

“Hmm... It is a complicated situation, but I suppose if he had not committed crimes before coming across The Serpents, we could have helped him be redeemed. Of course, he would have a longer stay in the dungeons than Varian and myself also a lot of help with his issues, so he does not re-offend,” Cass replied. She was fortunate to get out of jail when she did; she even had her trial cancelled. Rapunzel had been very kind to her and Eugene, surprisingly. Stan had treated her with the kindness and compassion that he gave any other prisoner; she guessed he had a soft spot for her since she had seen her grow up. She knew he was not always a weak pushover, he could be very hard, like when he had removed Varian, but the Decay Incantation at the final battle seemed to have changed him a lot. It had made him more gentle and Pete much harder; it had frozen his heart now; ironically, the Fire Stone burned it.

* * *

Meanwhile, with Eugene's permission, Meg had met up with Woodlock in a quiet, empty room in the castle.

“Miss Megan, the results from your blood test have come through,” Woodlock said as he passed her an envelope. “Harry would have given it to you if he had not disappeared.”

Megan’s jaw dropped when she had a look at the results. She shook her head as she thought of Stefan, his lot had put her off magic, but maybe she could use it to help in the fight. “Wow... All this time, I am magical.”

“I could help you if you like to learn more defence charms,” Woodlock said.

“Yeah... I know a lot of spells from when I was with Stefan and... Your daughter, but I had never done it myself,” Meg replied.

Woodlock nodded. “Alright, we can get started in the morning... I have to prepare for Charles’ funeral this evening; I can take you to the wandmaker then get started with the lessons.”

“I guess that would be in Amestria, right? I haven’t seen one in Corona,” Meg said.

“Aye, but it won’t take long; just apparate there,” Woodlock replied. He glanced over his shoulder to check there was no one else around, then pulled out a pile of papers from his rucksack. “These are Charlie’s notes from when he was working on translating the scrolls; there are a couple of rats in the Magical Guard, so it is not safe to around here.”

Meg nodded; she could understand that she had her suspicions that Marcus was one of them. “I could keep them safe for you until Harry returns... Hopefully alive, maybe I could help him with finishing it,” Meg said.

Woodlock raised an eyebrow. “Cassandra has decided not to go into hiding from The Serpents?”

Meg sighed and shook her head. “No, she’s very stubborn; she refuses to move.”

“I see. Are you sure you can care for it?” Woodlock asked.

Meg nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be moving out soon once I’ve got a job; it was just temporary.”

Woodlock nodded. “What job are you thinking of applying for?”

“The florist’s,” Meg replied. “I’m not particularly fussed as long as it pays well enough.”

“Hmm, just be careful; there is another curse for the Phoenix Flower; it appears they have somehow already learnt the Decay curse; if they get hold of that, there will be trouble,” Woodlock warned as a grave expression appeared on his face. “The Phoenix has the power to support life but also can destroy it; there is also the destruction curse for the Earth Stone,” Woodlock said. “Charlie was working on the translations when he died; you must keep this out of reach from everyone, including the men in the magical guard, do you understand?”

Meg nodded. “Yeah... I know very well what Stefan and his friends are capable of, one of them being your daughter.”

Woodlock sighed and nodded. “Yes, it appears Melanie is still on his side... She is capable of being very vicious.”

“I’m sorry for your loss... Do you think there is a chance for her to be redeemed, or is she too far gone?” Megan asked.

Woodlock breathed a heavy sigh and glanced through the window. “It’s rather complicated... She was a good person at heart, it’s possible she was under the imperious curse or drugged with potions that heavily influenced her, but that would be very difficult to prove to the court.”

Meg nodded. “Yeah, she seemed like a good person at heart, but... Stefan had poisoned her mind, so she became as twisted as him.”

Woodlock nodded. “Indeed he has; you should probably get back to your friend Cassandra.” He handed her the papers, which she shoved into her bag along with her results. “Take care; these are hard times... I’m sure you are aware you need to be careful who you trust.”

“Yeah, I learnt that the hard way,” Meg replied. “You should take care of; you have been going through a lot yourself with your children... Anyway, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Woodlock nodded and waved her off as she exited the room; he turned and glanced through the window. He hoped wherever Harry was; he was safe from any Serpents; the last thing he wanted was for him to meet the same fate as Melanie or Charlie.

* * *

“Finally, I have found it!” Harry gasped as he stared at the flower in awe; it was beautiful with its scarlet and golden petals that shined. He thought of his adoptive father, the legends of the Phoenix Flower, to see the enchanted lily in person was terrific. Harry could have sat and stared at it for hours but plucked it out and straightened himself back up. He breathed a heavy sigh; he hoped this would work. He shoved it into his bag and whipped out his wand; within seconds, he was back in New Corona.

He heavily panted as he dashed across the street. He paused when he had seen the Magical Guard gathered around the pier. Bagpipes played a gentle tune beside them; there was a wooden boat with a body covered in a white blanket in front of them. It was an old Amestrian tradition to shoot burning arrows at the ship that carried the deceased. He was too late; the young wizard had frozen in shock, the bag containing the flower had dropped. He silently listened to their father as he started the speech.

“May the Phoenix welcome you with open wings, guide you through The Great Beyond as you burn tonight, then in the morning, you will rise again as another being. May they sing your name with joy and fury so that we may hear it from the depths of Val, Charles Edward Woodlock, a solider, a medic, a brother and a son.” A tear slid down his face; he had tried to keep up a brave face but losing another child had hit him hard. It was painful for Woodlock to watch as his little boy was taken away forever.

Harry moved towards them but paused as he spotted his eldest brother, preparing to do the most challenging part. 

Sam breathed out a heavy sigh as he poked his arrow into the fire, then got up and drew it back, then fired. The flaming arrow landed just underneath the bed and began to spread out. The other men glanced at him with a solemn expression as they picked up a bow.

Tears poured down Harry’s face; he backed away, unable to bring himself to watch. “No! No! No!”

Woodlock had quickly turned; he was shocked and relieved to see his youngest but also saddened to see him like this. “Harold!”

“Y-You couldn’t have just waited a bit longer! I-I had gotten the other Phoenix Flower! I could have brought him back!” Harry cried.

“Harry, man! I told you he was too far gone!” Sam shouted.

“Samuel, do not take that tone with your brother!” Woodlock snapped.

Sam huffed as he moved back and flung his arms up in exasperation. “He’s ridiculous! You know there is a time limit; it cannot shit miracles!”

The other guards looked at Mustang, wondering when they should fire; the bagpipers stopped, so an awkward silence hung in the air.

“It’s not; at least I’m trying! You did not even bother to do that!” Harry snapped. “It was Charlie’s idea to help Cass and Varian get the first flower! Flying on brooms was a terrible idea! I told you we couldn’t trust Marcus, but you wouldn’t believe me! You never listen to me!”

“Oh, aye yee bring that up at Charlie’s funeral!” Sam shouted; his accent became thicker as he dropped his ‘Clear English mode.’ “Shut up an’ shoot an arrow or gan' back hyem!”

“Fine, I’ll go, just don’t come crying to me when Marcus takes out your other eye or worse!” Harry yelled. “If you were better at your job, Charlie would not have even died in the first-“

“That’s enough, Harold! We’ll talk about this later!” Woodlock shouted.

“Fire!” Mustang called out as he thought they had been holding up long enough.

The three of them had fallen silent as the men released the arrows; they watched as they flew over to the boat, hitting different parts. In a matter of minutes, the thing was in flames, burning away Charlie’s body; in their eyes, this was the end of one life and the beginning of another.

Woodlock turned back to his youngest to try and comfort him as he felt guilty for losing his temper with him, but he had disappeared. He sighed as he bowed his head. “Not again, Harold.”

Sam huffed as he picked up Harry’s bag. “Foolish lad, thinking he could change his fate!”

Woodlock had taken the bag and glanced at the floating bonfire. He had a sinking feeling this would not be the only time he would have to bid farewell to a child he had raised. “This time, the Phoenix Flower will need to be kept safe, especially with The Serpents around and… Melanie.”

“Aye, she’s still with them, isn’t she,” Sam said. “We should worry about that later; for now, just focus on honouring Charlie’s memory, dad.” He pulled out his wand and held it up high; a silver light flashed at the end and shot sparks into the night sky. "Goodbye, brother." 

* * *

At this time, Megan and Cassandra were back at home, settling in for the night. 

“Are you okay, Cass? I heard Sam snapped at you about Marcus,” Meg said as she entered the room.

Cass sighed as she gently petted Owl’s head. “Yeah, he wouldn’t believe me.”

“Hopefully, things will calm down soon, it’s been a while, and Peter has been a no show... I think they have killed him, and Shadow had taken the Fire Stone for himself,” Meg said as she leaned against the wall.

“Hmm, maybe... Oh.” Cassandra perked up when she spotted a blast of white light that shot up into the sky like a shooting star followed by several others.

“That’s a wizarding tradition; at funerals, they point their wands up at the sky; it’s Charlie’s tonight; shame Harry has missed it, ” Meg said and breathed a heavy sigh. She pulled out a piece of paper from her bag and looked over it.

Cass frowned as she glanced at the image of large flames, red stone and a flower in the parchment she was holding. “What’s that?”

“It’s the scroll for the Phoenix Flower; I have ones for the element stones; Charlie was working on translating it up until his... Demise, this is another thing that The Serpents are after, there are two traitors in the magical guard, but without proof, we can’t do anything,” Meg replied.

“Oh... Wait, don’t The Serpents have a mark? Like a snake?” Cass asked.

“Yeah, but they could use magic to cover it up, ” Meg said.

“Not if we catch them by surprise, though, ” Cass said.

Meg nodded. “Yeah... Catching them would be a challenge; I think that's what Charlie had tried to do.”

“Yeah,” Cass said and sighed. “Woodlock would feel he’s islands apart from his son, but he won’t ever be able to bring him back... The sad thing is he didn't need to die; he should have just stayed down and hidden.”

Meg nodded. “Yeah... That's what happened to Stan. He stepped in to protect a friend, but it backfired on him.”

“That was a mistake; it did not stop Pete from taking the Fire Stone,” Cass said. “I still can’t believe he had done all of that, he’s even worse than I was with the Moonstone, and that was pretty bad.”

“Yeah, he had done a lot of damage over in Old Corona. Hopefully, he won’t come back to do the other half,” Meg said.

Cass hummed as she continued to gaze out of the window; she had been in pretty low spirits lately, like nothing she does is ever good enough; it still saddened her to think about Sam’s outburst. However, she supposed she should not have been surprised as she had believed that Zhan Tiri was her one true friend.’

Meg sighed as she prepared herself to let her in on her plans. "I'm going to be moving out soon, try to get myself a job and a place of my own. Thank you so much for taking me into your home, Cassandra." 

Cassandra stared at her for a moment, surprised she would be considering moving while Shadow was still out there. "Are you sure?" 

Meg nodded. "Yes... I'm not sure where yet, but I don't think this will work for long; if they catch both of us, Stefan will be able to kill two birds with one stone... That is why I should hide. I am the one he really wants." 

Cass sighed. Meg had really grown on her. She became a great friend to her during this difficult time; she did not expect they would be having to part so soon; saying 'goodbye' to her loved ones was the one thing that she did not look forward to when the day came for her to leave Corona. "I understand. Take care, alright? If you ever need anything, I'll be there for you." 

Meg smiled a little and nodded. "Thank you... I just thought I would let you know now rather than later." 

Cass had put on a small smile and put an arm around Meg. "I wish you the best of luck in your journey." 


End file.
